Joel Embiid recorded his 10th career triple-double and Jaylen Brown scored 27 points on his 30th birthday to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 127-116 home win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
Embiid finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Philadelphia, which rested LeBron James (back/sciatica). James is expected to play Sunday against the Detroit Pistons, while Embiid will rest in the second half of a back-to-back.
Tyrese Maxey pitched in with 26 points for the Sixers, while VJ Edgecombe made five 3-pointers as part of a 17-point, 13-rebound performance.
While the Sixers are 3-0 on the young season, the Bucks fell to 0-3 despite eight players scoring in double figures. Jaime Jaquez Jr. led Milwaukee with 21 points, while Kel’el Ware had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the visitors.
The teams were tied at 82-82 with four minutes left in the third quarter before the Sixers ended the period on a 15-5 push. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Maxey each made a 3-pointer during that surge, which Maxey capped with a tough fadeaway with the quarter winding down.
Philadelphia started to pull away early in the fourth.
Embiid’s jumper gave the hosts a 113-98 lead with about six minutes left. The Sixers still held a comfortable advantage at 117-108 with 3:18 to go before the Bucks rattled off six in a row in just over a minute to make it a three-point game.
However, Edgecombe came up with a big offensive rebound on the other end, leading to a 3-pointer by Brown. Then on the next Philadelphia possession, Brown found Caldwell-Pope for a 3-pointer that essentially sealed the outcome.
Philadelphia knocked down five 3-pointers in the first quarter — three by Edgecombe — en route to a 34-25 lead after 12 minutes.
The Sixers struggled to find a rhythm in the second quarter, as they shot just 33.3% from the field (9 of 27). Brown led all scorers with 16 points in the first half.
