Philadelphia 76ers beat Milwaukee Bucks 127-116 as Joel Embiid’s triple-double covers for a resting LeBron James

Joel Embiid filled every column on Saturday, October 24, putting up a 28-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist triple-double as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 127-116 at Xfinity Mobile Arena. With LeBron James held out to manage his lower back, Philadelphia broke an 82-82 tie with a 15-5 finish to the third quarter, then answered a late Milwaukee charge with three baskets in 52 seconds. The 76ers are 3-0; the Bucks are still looking for their first win at 0-3.

Embiid did his damage from inside and at the stripe. He made 8 of 20 shots, went 12-of-14 on free throws and was plus-18 in 36 minutes. His tenth assist came on the play that settled the game, a kick-out to Jaylen Brown for a three with 1:39 left that made it 120-114.

Game Center: Bucks at 76ers, box score and play-by-play

How Philadelphia pulled away

The first quarter ended with Tyrese Maxey connecting from 46 feet for a 34-25 lead. Milwaukee answered with a 35-point second quarter and briefly went ahead early in the third, when Tyler Herro scored eight quick points and put the Bucks up 69-67. AJ Green’s three tied it at 82 with 4:25 to go in the period.

From there the 76ers took over. Embiid made a pair of free throws, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a three, Maxey added a three and two more from the line, and Maxey closed the quarter with a step-back jumper at the horn for a 97-87 lead. Embiid then set up three straight baskets to open the fourth, including threes by Anfernee Simons and VJ Edgecombe, and the lead reached 16 at 108-92.

The Bucks did not go away. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 10 points in the final six minutes and Kel’el Ware converted a three-point play with 2:02 left to cut the gap to 117-114. Brown’s three, a Caldwell-Pope jumper after an Edgecombe steal and an Embiid dunk ended it.

Turnovers beat rebounds

On paper Milwaukee should have had a chance. The Bucks outrebounded Philadelphia 62-40, grabbed 17 offensive boards and shot 55 percent inside the arc. They also gave the ball away 23 times, and the 76ers came away with 15 steals, three each from Brown, Caldwell-Pope and Dean Wade. Philadelphia turned it over only 11 times and made 19 threes to Milwaukee’s 11.

Maxey finished with 26 points, Brown had 27 on his 30th birthday, and Edgecombe added 17 points and 12 rebounds with five threes. Caldwell-Pope scored 12 off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting from deep. Wade, starting in James’ place in his first game of the season after an ankle injury, had seven points. First-round pick Labaron Philon Jr. made his NBA debut.

For Milwaukee, Jaquez scored 21, Ware had 19 points and 13 rebounds off the bench, and Kyle Kuzma added 14 points and 12 rebounds. Myles Turner went scoreless in 20 minutes and was minus-16, and Herro was held to 13 points after his fast start to the second half.

What comes next

The 76ers finish a back-to-back on Sunday, October 25, at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Detroit Pistons, with James expected to return. Follow it on the Pistons-76ers Game Center. The Bucks get a day off before hosting the Indiana Pacers on Monday, October 26, at 8 p.m. ET; that one is on the Pacers-Bucks Game Center.