Jaylen Brown is cleared to play and starts at Charlotte a night after missing his first game, with LeBron James and Joel Embiid out

Jaylen Brown was upgraded to available for the Philadelphia 76ers‘ game at the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, October 31, one night after left patellar tendinopathy cost him his first game of the season, and he was in the starting lineup at Spectrum Center.

His return matters more than usual for this game. Philadelphia ruled out both LeBron James (low back and sciatica management) and Joel Embiid (right foot plantar fascia injury management) for the second night of a back-to-back, so Brown and Tyrese Maxey are carrying the offense on their own.

From questionable to cleared

Brown had been listed as questionable on the league’s 1 p.m. ET report. The 5:30 p.m. ET version moved him to available, along with Tacko Fall (left quadriceps strain) and Jabari Walker, who carries the same left patellar tendinopathy designation as Brown. Dominick Barlow (low back stress reaction) and Ariel Hukporti (right Achilles tendon tear) stayed out with James and Embiid.

The 76ers opened with Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Brown, Dean Wade and Adem Bona. Wade had started in Brown’s place on Friday, when Philadelphia edged the New York Knicks 98-93 on a late James putback to move to 5-1.

What Brown brings in Philadelphia

Brown, in his first season with the 76ers after 10 years in Boston, scored 27 points on his 30th birthday against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 24 and had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win at Indiana on October 28. His role is smaller than it was with the Celtics, where he averaged a career-best 28.7 points over 71 games last season, but with James and Embiid sitting he is the clear second option behind Maxey.

The knee is still worth watching. Tendinopathy tends to flare with workload, and the 76ers have managed James and Embiid carefully through the first two weeks. Brown’s minutes on Saturday, and whether he shows up on Monday’s report, will say how much the team trusts it.

Charlotte played without Kon Knueppel (left hamstring strain), Coby White (left calf strain) and Grant Williams (right hamstring strain). Follow the night on the Game Center and every status on the injury report.

What comes next

The 76ers return home to face the Chicago Bulls on Monday, November 2, at 7:30 p.m. ET (Game Center). The Hornets host the Detroit Pistons the same night (Game Center).