Philadelphia’s first real test of the season came with its headline star in street clothes, and the Sixers still passed it.
Joel Embiid posted a triple-double, Tyrese Maxey scored 26 points, and Jaylen Brown added 27 on his 30th birthday as Philadelphia beat the Milwaukee Bucks 127-116 on Saturday night to move to 3-0. LeBron James was ruled out with lower back pain management, but the Sixers kept finding production from elsewhere — the exact question hanging over this early stretch.
That question is no longer just whether Philadelphia can survive a game or two without James. It is whether the opening week is revealing a team that can spread responsibility across Embiid, Brown, Maxey and the rest of the rotation when its most recognizable name is unavailable.
The answer, at least through three games, has been yes.
Philadelphia entered the night already carrying one of the season’s most striking results: a 29-point comeback against Cleveland, the largest comeback win of James’ NBA-record 24 seasons. That rally had already offered a glimpse of the team’s resilience. James himself pointed to that after the win, saying, “It’s great to know that deep down, we’re not gonna have that quit mentality.”
Against Milwaukee, the Sixers needed a different kind of response. They wavered, let the Bucks take the lead, then steadied themselves with a burst that changed the game. Embiid hit two big 3-pointers and scored eight points in the second quarter to help Philadelphia break out of an ice-cold stretch. Later, he went on a personal 7-0 run to put the Sixers ahead for good.
By the end, Embiid’s line told the story of how much of the offense ran through him: 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Maxey kept pressure on the defense with 26 points, and Brown’s 27-point night gave Philadelphia another high-end scoring option. James, who had averaged 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds over his first two games with the Sixers, was first off the bench to celebrate with Maxey after the guard’s fadeaway jumper at the end of the third quarter pushed Philadelphia up 10.
The Bucks, meanwhile, were trying to keep up on the second night of a back-to-back and got 21 points from Jaime Jaquez Jr. Kyle Kuzma added 14 points and 12 rebounds, but Milwaukee dropped to 0-3.
Philadelphia’s own issues are still visible. The Sixers are still working through chemistry and figuring out where everyone should be on offense, and they shot just 7-of-28 from 3-point range against Milwaukee. They also have workload questions ahead, with Embiid expected to rest at the end of the back-to-back.
But the early results have given the Sixers something more concrete than a hot start. They have already shown they can win with James on the sideline, and they have done it in two different ways: by erasing a huge deficit against Cleveland and by leaning on Embiid, Maxey and Brown to close out Milwaukee.
That is the part worth watching now. Not just that Philadelphia is unbeaten, but how many different players have already had to carry it there.