Joel Embiid had a triple-double with LeBron James out, Jaylen Brown scored 27 points on his 30th birthday, and the Philadelphia 76ers remained undefeated with a 127-116 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.
James was officially ruled out with lower back pain management in the first of back-to-back games for the Sixers this weekend. He is expected to play Sunday night at home against Detroit.
Embiid had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and went 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Tyrese Maxey scored 26 points, and VJ Edgecombe had 17.
Brown hit a 3-pointer off a pass from Embiid that made it 120-114 and gave the All-Star center the triple-double. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope sank a 3 off a turnover for a nine-point lead that sent fans to their feet and ended Milwaukee's late push for the win.
Kyle Kuzma had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the winless Bucks (0-3). Jaime Jaquez Jr. led the Bucks with 21 points.
The 41-year-old James averaged 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds over his first two games with the Sixers. Coach Nick Nurse said before the game that James had not expressed any pain or discomfort with his back.
The Sixers rallied from 29 points down to beat Cleveland on Thursday, which marked the biggest comeback win for any of James' teams over his NBA-record 24 seasons.
James was first off the bench to celebrate with Maxey after the All-Star guard hit a fadeaway jumper to end the third quarter and put the Sixers up 10. Maxey also buried a 46-footer to end the first quarter and jump-start yet another win for a Sixers team playing with serious NBA championship aspirations.
Dean Wade started for James and scored seven points in his first game of the season. Wade missed the first two games with an ankle injury.
Sixers backup big man Jabari Walker tweaked his left knee in the third quarter and had to leave the game. Nurse said the knee would be evaluated.
Labaron Philon Jr., the Sixers' first-round pick, made his NBA debut. Philon was expected to become at least a rotation player when he was drafted out Alabama.
