The Philadelphia 76ers’ star-studded lineup quickly has proved that no obstacle is too great to overcome.
After two come-from-behind wins, including an epic rally in their home opener on Thursday, the Sixers gladly would settle for a more comfortable victory Saturday night when they host the Milwaukee Bucks.
Philadelphia opened its season Tuesday with a 106-100 victory in New York, spoiling the Knicks’ banner ceremony. The Sixers trailed by 10 points in the second quarter in front of an energized crowd, but they rallied to edge the defending NBA champs.
Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points in that game and followed with a 32-point effort in Thursday’s wild 114-106 triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Sixers trailed by as many as 29 points in the first half against the Cavaliers before storming to a victory thanks to key contributions throughout their lineup.
In addition to Maxey’s productive night, Joel Embiid added 24 points, Jaylen Brown contributed 21, and LeBron James had 17 to go with 10 rebounds.
“We all played basketball,” Embiid said. “We play at a high level. Everybody had their moment. ‘Rese had his moments, JB had his moments, ‘Bron had his moments, and I had my moments.”
For James, who was playing in front of Philadelphia fans for the first time as a Sixer, the experience was not disappointing.
“It was everything I dreamed of and more,” James said. “Got the boos, that was amazing, and we deserved it, and then we got the cheers. We almost blew the roof off this thing tonight, in a good way. It was a hell of a night.”
Embiid said he will play in only one of Philadelphia’s two games this weekend, although it’s not clear which one. The Sixers also could rest James on Saturday, as he appeared on Friday’s injury report as questionable due to lower back/sciatica management.
In either case, that’ll put more pressure on Maxey, who averaged a career-high 28.3 points last season and is at 30 this year.
“He’s been very impressive,” coach Nick Nurse said. “Coming into this year, he seemed to take a level of confidence and maturity jump. He feels so sure of what he can do, which is a big step.”
Milwaukee, meanwhile, is looking for its first victory after falling to the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls this week. The Bucks have given up an average of 130 points per game in the post-Giannis Antetokounmpo era, including 132 in Friday’s seven-point loss to the Bulls.
“Just defensively, we’ve got to be a lot better,” said Jaime Jaquez, one of the key players the Bucks received when they dealt Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat in July. “We’re actually putting a lot of points on the board, which is a positive for us. But we’ve just got to understand defensively what it’ll take to win.”
Tyler Herro scored 34 points against Chicago, while Jaquez chipped in with 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Kyle Kuzma notched 14 points and nine boards.
“I’ve got the ultimate confidence in our guys when they step out there,” Milwaukee coach Taylor Jenkins said. “… They’re beating themselves up, but I just told them to keep their head up. We’ve just got to keep working on this stuff.”
