The Sixers are 3-0, and Saturday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena had the kind of star-driven shape you’d expect from a team that keeps finding ways to put games away. Joel Embiid turned in his 10th career regular-season triple-double, and the Sixers outlasted the Bucks 127-116 to stay unbeaten.
Embiid finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while Tyrese Maxey added 26 points. On his 30th birthday, Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and handed out five assists. VJ Edgecombe chipped in 17 points and 13 rebounds.
The Sixers were also shorthanded again on the first night of a back-to-back. LeBron James was out with low back/sciatica management, and head coach Nick Nurse said before tipoff that he still did not know who would be available Sunday against the Pistons.
Dean Wade made his Sixers debut in James’ spot and got the start after missing the first two games with a left ankle sprain. He announced himself quickly, burying a corner three on the opening possession for the first points of the night.
Embiid was just as sharp at the other end of the floor. He looked mobile, made clean reads and controlled the offense early. Against Myles Turner, he has usually done damage; he entered the night averaging 29.4 points in 18 previous games against the Bucks big man.
The early production was all over the box score. Embiid had eight points, four assists and four rebounds in the first quarter alone, including an offensive board that led to a fadeaway jumper and a 10-1 Sixers lead.
He also showed off some flair, slipping Edgecombe a behind-the-back bounce pass for an open three. Edgecombe knocked it down and went 3 for 4 from deep in the opening quarter.
The second quarter was a different story. The Sixers added rookie Labaron Philon Jr. to the rotation, and Jabari Walker remained in the mix but did not check in until 7:36 remained in the period.
Philon made his NBA debut, played four minutes and missed his only shot, a corner three. He had some defensive growing pains, giving up a couple of drives, but he looked comfortable enough on offense for a first outing.
After Maxey banked in a half-court heave at the first-quarter buzzer to push the lead to nine, the Sixers lost their edge. The offense stalled, the possessions got sticky and the Bucks pounced. Adem Bona had another rough stint, and Milwaukee briefly took control when Ryan Rollins buried a three to make it 40-37 after an Anfernee Simons transition layup miss.
For a stretch, the Sixers looked a lot like the group that dug itself into a 29-point hole Thursday against Cleveland before rallying. They scored only seven points in the first six minutes of the second quarter, settled for contested jumpers and let Milwaukee run in transition. The Bucks piled up the game’s first 19 fast-break points.
Still, the Sixers steadied themselves before halftime. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a pair of threes in the second quarter and swiped three steals in the first half. Embiid set up a go-ahead and-one layup for Walker, and Brown later knocked down a three with 11.8 seconds left in the half.
Without James, the shot-making burden naturally shifted, and Brown handled his part just fine. The Sixers’ star trio gave them a clear edge in volume, and by the end of the third quarter Brown, Embiid and Maxey had all gone over 20 points.
Maxey added one more timely basket to close the third, drilling a jumper from the right elbow with 1.7 seconds left to stretch the lead to 97-87.
Milwaukee made it interesting late. Kel'el Ware’s put-back and and-one cut the deficit to 117-114, but the Sixers answered. Embiid earned his triple-double by feeding Brown for a second-chance jumper, Caldwell-Pope followed with a corner three, and Embiid put an exclamation point on the night with a late dunk.
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