Sixers 127, Bucks 116: Embiid Triple-Double Keeps Philadelphia Unbeaten
Joel Embiid had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as Philadelphia improved to 3-0 and shot far better from three than in its first two games.
The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 127-116 on Saturday, 24 October, to move to 3-0 and extend a start that mirrors last season's: it is the second straight year they have opened 3-0.
The stat lines
Joel Embiid led the way with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, his 10th regular-season triple-double, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. Jaylen Brown added 27 points on his 30th birthday and Tyrese Maxey scored 26. VJ Edgecombe had 17 points. NBC Sports Philadelphia reports every Sixers starter scored in double figures, and the team went 19-of-44 from three-point range (43%), compared with 26.5% across its first two games.
How it unfolded
Philadelphia started quickly. NBC Sports Philadelphia says Embiid had eight points and four assists in his first nine minutes, including a fadeaway that made it 10-1, and Maxey's half-court shot at the first-quarter buzzer put the Sixers up nine.
Milwaukee came back in the second. The recap says the Sixers scored only seven points in the first six minutes of the quarter, and the Bucks, who had been consensus underdogs, went ahead 40-37 on a Ryan Rollins three. Yahoo Sports credits Brown with the response: two threes and eight second-quarter points helped break the cold spell, and Philadelphia led by four at half-time. NBC adds that Brown's three with 11.8 seconds left helped the Sixers retake the lead.
A Maxey jumper with 1.7 seconds left in the third made it 97-87. The Bucks did not go away. A Kel'el Ware and-one cut the deficit to 117-114 in the fourth, but NBC Sports Philadelphia reports Embiid set up a Brown jumper, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a corner three and Embiid closed with a dunk. It also credits Edgecombe's offensive rebound, which led to a Brown three, and his steal, which led to a Caldwell-Pope three, as key late plays.
Roster notes
Dean Wade made his Sixers debut, starting after missing the first two games with a left ankle sprain, and scored the game's first points on a corner three. Rookie Labaron Philon Jr. made his NBA debut, playing four minutes and missing his only shot. Jabari Walker left in the third quarter and did not return; coach Nick Nurse said he tweaked his left knee.
What's next
It was the first game of the season's first back-to-back. Yahoo notes Embiid's status for Sunday was unclear; the Sixers host the Pistons at 7:30 p.m. ET.