No LeBron James, no problem as Sixers roll on

LOS ANGELES - The Philadelphia 76ers extended their perfect start to the NBA season with a 127-116 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Oct 24 as the San Antonio Spurs bagged their first win of the campaign against the Dallas Mavericks.

Despite resting veteran new signing LeBron James, the Sixers comfortably pulled away from the Bucks to move to 3-0 in the Eastern Conference.

Joel Embiid led the Sixers scoring with a 28-point triple-double that included 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Embiid was given scoring support from Jaylen Brown, who marked his 30th birthday with 27 points, while the dynamic Tyrese Maxey pitched in with 26 points.

V.J. Edgecombe drained five three-pointers in a 17-point haul while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 12 off the bench.

“It’s awesome to start off good but we’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Brown said of the Sixers’ 3-0 start. “It’s good to win games now but we’ve gotta get better quickly,” he added.

In Dallas, San Antonio shrugged off defeats to Oklahoma City and Houston in their opening two games to score a 122-106 victory over the Mavericks, who were playing without the injured Cooper Flagg.

Victor Wembanyama led the San Antonio scoring with 23 points while Dylan Harper added 22.

De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle finished with 19 points apiece.

Houston continued their serene start to the season, improving to 3-0 with a 121-114 road win over the Atlanta Hawks.

The showdown between two unbeaten teams saw Houston’s balanced offense prove decisive, with no fewer than seven Rockets players reaching double figures, led by Kevin Durant with 22 points.

The Miami Heat slumped to 0-3 after losing 115-110 on the road against the Charlotte Hornets.

Brandon Miller led the Charlotte scoring with 34 points while Dennis Schroder added 25 as the Hornets improved to 2-1.

New Miami signing Giannis Antetokounmpo was restricted to just 14 points.

Miami trailed 96-75 heading into the fourth quarter but rallied superbly to draw level, only to fall short of completing the comeback.

The defeat marks the first time since 2007 to 2008 that Miami have lost all three of their opening games.

“We need a lot more inspiration throughout the course of 48 minutes,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.

“It’s a powerful thing when you can inspire your teammate to make an extraordinary effort, and we will. We’ll get there.”

The Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 1-1 with a 125-121 defeat of the winless Brooklyn Nets while the Washington Wizards edged the Chicago Bulls 124-120 thanks to 25 points from Trae Young. AFP