MILWAUKEE -- Wednesday was supposed to be Jabari Parker's chance to sign, but in the end, it was Greg Monroe and Khris Middleton who saved the day for the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring the final 11 points of a 91-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Parker, sidelined since he tore his left ACL Jan. 5 of last season, made his return to the court and saw 16 minutes of action, scoring two points on 1 of 6 shooting in 16 minutes of work through three quarters.

Head coach Jason Kidd had set a limit of about 20 minutes for Parker, but the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft watched from the sideline as Middleton and Monroe took over and led the comeback in the final minutes.

Milwaukee closed the third on a high note, taking a 68-67 lead when forward Giannis Antetokounmpo converted a three-point play with 1.4 seconds left. The Bucks pushed the lead to six early in the quarter on an Antetokounmpo dunk but an 11-2 run put the 76ers ahead when Hollis Thompson's step-back jumper made it a 77-75 game with 7:34 left.

Chris Copeland answered with a 3-pointer for Milwaukee and Monroe followed with a dunk at the 6:24 mark to put the Bucks up three before Philadelphia rallied again, outscoring the Bucks, 8-2, over the next four minutes to take a 85-82 lead on Nerlens Noel's 3-pointer with 2:29 left.

Monroe responded with a turnaround hook shot, then was fed by Middleton for a layup with 1:29 left to put Milwaukee back ahead.

Monroe chipped in on the defensive end, too, swiping the ball from shooting guard Nik Stauskas and on the ensuing possession, Middleton hit from 27 feet, giving Milwaukee a four-point lead with 48 seconds to play.

"We played through them," Kidd said. "The ball was moving a little bit better in the fourth quarter and on the other end, we started getting defensive rebounds when we had to and came up with the steal. That was a good run for us."

Middleton led Milwaukee with 21 points while Monroe added 18 on 7 of 14 shooting with eight rebounds and four assists.

"Those two guys delivered tonight," Kidd said.

Parker felt good after his first game action in 10 months and was looking forward to building his minutes back up.

"They're going to progress me slowly," Parker said. "Hopefully, I can build up my stamina because in the game, it was real difficult. But in practice, we'll see going forward."

Noel hit four of five shots in the final quarter for eight of his 17 points and added 12 rebounds. Center Jahlil Okafor led Philadelphia with 21 points and Stauskas had 14 despite going 3-for-14 from distance.

"A really great effort," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said. "Tonight, we were in a position, at the end, to get a road win. We didn't but it's something you just leave feeling good about the group, that they are, in fact, improving. They are moving forward."

Philadelphia remains winless on the season, dropping to 0-4 while the Bucks improved to 2-3 and earned their first home victory of the season.

NOTES: Undrafted rookie PG T.J. McConnell made his first career start and scored seven points with 12 assists and nine rebounds in 25 minutes Wednesday for Philadelphia. ... Bucks PG Michael Carter-Williams did not play because a sprained left ankle and SG O.J. Mayo remained sidelined with a strained hamstring suffered late in training camp. ... Wednesday marked the season debut for Bucks F Jabari Parker, who had been sidelined since tearing his left ACL on Jan. 5 of last season. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft, Parker averaged 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 25 games before suffering the injury. ... F Robert Covington did not travel with the 76ers to Milwaukee after re-injuring his right knee. Covington missed Philadelphia's first two games this season then scored four points in 22 minutes Monday night only to tweak the knee during a practice session Tuesday. ... The 76ers have lost seven in a row to Milwaukee, and 10 of the last 12 meetings between the two teams. ... Bucks C Greg Monroe has recorded a double-double in each of his five games this season.