MILWAUKEE — The short-handed Milwaukee Bucks were no match for the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday at the Bradley Center.

Playing without starting guard Mo Williams, who missed his third straight game with an abdominal strain, and forward Yi Jianlian, who missed his third straight with a sprained ankle, the Bucks (23-40) lost for the fifth time in six games, 119-97.

Rookie Thaddeus Young led the 76ers (30-33) with 22 points, and Samuel Dalembert added 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Young was 8-of-11 from the floor and made all six free throws, helping Philadelphia shoot a season-high 60.3 percent.

The 76ers' fourth straight win moved them within one-half game of idle Washington in the Eastern Conference.

Charlie Villanueva had 25 points and eight rebounds for Milwaukee.

"I think Philadelphia is one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now that a lot of people are not talking about," Villanueva said.

Michael Redd added 19 points and Charlie Bell had 15 off the bench.

"We haven't had a clue against Philadelphia all year long," Redd said.

Andrew Bogut, who averages 13.7 points and 9.3 rebounds, had just one point and two rebounds.

Philadelphia already had a 14-point lead when it went on a 13-4 run, essentially locking up its season-best third straight road win while shutting down a high-scoring Bucks team that had managed at least 100 points in nine of the previous 10 games.

After Andre Iguodala and Reggie Evans hit consecutive baskets, Iguodala added two free throws to cap the run and give Philadelphia a 109-86 lead with 3 minutes, 33 seconds left.

"We laid a big egg effort-wise," Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said.

A jumper by Villanueva and two free throws from Desmond Mason cut the margin to 88-74 at the end of the third quarter.

But with just over 4 minutes left in the fourth, Krystkowiak went to his reserves. He even called a timeout with 2.7 seconds left, which drew a few chuckles from the opponent.

The coach knows his chances at a playoff run are getting slimmer with each loss.

"We're not going to lose hope or give up and quit," Krystkowiak said. "It's not impossible, but it is getting improbable."