PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored 43 points, including eight straight during a crucial stretch of the fourth quarter, and rookie V.J. Edgecomb added 26 points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Joel Embiid-less Orlando Magic 136-124 to improve to 3-0.
Embiid, the 2023 MVP and two-time scoring champion, was sidelined to rest his surgically repaired left knee. After playing just 19 games last season, Embiid played the first two under a 20-minute limit.
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Philadelphia has done just fine without its star center. Maxey followed with a 3-pointer to the basket with just over a minute left to give the 76ers a comfortable 12-point lead. He averages 37.0 points per game. Edgecomb, the third overall pick in the NBA Draft, continues to impress and has scored 75 points in three games. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 25 points.
Paolo Banchero scored 32 points to lead the Magic, who opened a 10-day, five-game road trip with their third straight loss. Desmond Bane scored 24 points and Franz Wagner added 22.
The Sixers' Andre Drummond finished with six rebounds, becoming the 32nd player in NBA history with at least 11,000 rebounds.
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CAVLIERS 116, PISTONS 95
DETROIT (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points in just 29 minutes and Cleveland beat Detroit for its third straight win.
The Cavaliers went on a 14-0 run in the second quarter, turning a seven-point lead into a 43-26 lead, and Mitchell's layup made it 63-41 at the break. He scored 14 more in the third quarter and left shortly after his basket made it 108-73 with 7:07 remaining.
Mitchell made 13 of 18 field goals, including 2 of 4 from 3-point range, and 7 of 8 from the free throw line. Jarrett Allen added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Cavaliers, and Evan Mobley finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
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Cleveland beat Detroit for the 13th time in the last 14 meetings.
Cade Cunningham finished with 12 points for the Pistons, but made 3 of 14 shots and committed five of 25 turnovers. Ron Holland II and Tolu Smith added 11 points each.
ROCKETS 137, NETWORKS 109
HOUSTON (AP) — Tari Eason scored 22 points, Alperen Sengun added 21 points, six rebounds and six assists and Houston beat Brooklyn for its first win of the season.
Kevin Durant scored 19 points against his former team as the record fell to 0-4. Eason made five 3-pointers off the bench, while fellow reserve Reid Sheppard added 15 points and eight assists.
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Houston lost in two overtimes to Oklahoma City in the NBA season opener and then lost Game 2 to Detroit by four, but it never got close.
The Rockets led 42-25 after shooting 62.5 percent in the first quarter, then outscored the Nets 32-17 in the third to extend their 11-point halftime lead to 103-77.
In the fourth quarter, the lead grew to 33 points. Amen Thompson had 12 points and eight assists.
Terance Mann scored 21 points and Michael Porter Jr. had 18 for the Nets.
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CELTICS 128, YASKOVY 123
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Anfernee Simons hit six 3-pointers and scored 25 points and Boston pulled away to beat New Orleans for its first win of the season.
Payton Pritchard added 18 points for the Celtics, who beat the Pelicans 31-4 at 9:14 in the final after leading by just five.
Simons scored 12 goals in the fourth quarter for Boston, which had lost its first three games. Luka Garza scored 16 points, while Jaylen Brown and Josh Minott finished with 15 points each.
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Jordan Poole scored 22 points for the Pelicans, who played without Zion Williamson and fell to 0-3. Rookie Derick Queen scored 12 points.
Williamson missed his first game of the season with a bone bruise in his left foot. He scored 27 points in both of his first two games.
Poole's 3-pointer cut the lead to 91-86 early in the fourth quarter before Simons made three 3-pointers and Sam Houser two in Boston's strong finish.
BULLS 128, JAMES 123
CHICAGO (AP) — Ayo Dosunmu scored 21 points, Josh Giddey had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Chicago led Atlanta.
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Nikola Vucevic had 17 points and 17 rebounds as Chicago rallied from an initial 13-point deficit to improve to 3-0, its best start in four years.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 27 points and Jalen Johnson 15 in his return to the Hawks' lineup, but Atlanta lost its second straight and the first of four games to fall to 1-3.
Trae Young had 21 points and 17 assists, including several highlight reels. Onyeka Okongwu had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
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Eight Chicago players, including all five stars, scored in double figures. Matas Bouzelis scored 16 points and Tre Jones added 14 with nine assists.
Spurs 121, RAPTORS 103
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Vembanyama had 24 points and 15 rebounds and San Antonio remained undefeated with a win over Toronto.
San Antonio leads 4-0 for the first time since 2017.
Stephon Castle added 22 points and Harrison Barnes 18 for San Antonio, which didn't win its fourth game until Nov. 7 last season.
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Toronto lost for the third time in a row after winning the season opener.
RJ Barrett had 25 points, Collin Murray-Boyles added 19 and Immanuel Quickley scored 15 points for the Raptors.
Wembanyama, who was named Western Conference Player of the Week earlier on Monday, continued to impress spectators. He drove up to the edge past Jakob Pöltl, made a 360 degree turn to avoid getting tackled by Scotty Barnes and get the ball off the glass for a layup in the first half.
Vembanyama made 7 of 8 from the field and 10 of 10 on free throws.
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GROM 101, MAVERIX 94
DALLAS (AP) — Isaiah Hartenstein scored 16 and 12 points — and scored Oklahoma City's only two field goals in the final 8:28 — surviving a furious rally in Dallas to win and improve to 4-0.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points to lead the defending NBA champions. Chet Holmgren had 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Anthony Davis had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Mavericks (1-3), playing their fourth straight home game to open the season.
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Oklahoma City led 93-74 before Dallas went on a 13-0 run before Hartenstein's tip gave the Thunder a 95-89 lead with 2:52 to play. The Mavericks took a one-point lead on D'Angelo Russell's shot with 54 seconds left, and Hartenstein answered with a left-handed layup with 33 seconds to play. Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws with 21.3 seconds left and Holmgren added two more with 3.3 seconds remaining.
NUGGETS 127, TIMBERWALLS 114
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 23 of his 43 points in the third quarter and Nikola Jokic had a triple-double as Denver beat shorthanded Minnesota.
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The Timberwolves played without star guard Anthony Edwards. who will miss at least a week with a right hamstring strain after he was injured in Sunday's game against Indiana. Backup guard Jaylen Clark also missed the game with a left calf strain.
Jokic finished with 25 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double in three games this season. He now has 167 career triple-doubles, third on the NBA's all-time list.
Murray made 16 of 29 shots and hit five 3-pointers for the Nuggets, who outscored the Timberwolves 45-29 in the third quarter and overcame an eight-point halftime deficit.
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Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 points and Peyton Watson added 12 for Denver.
Jaden McDaniels led Minnesota with 25 points, Julius Randle scored 24 and Naz Reed had 18.
JAZZ 138, SANS 134, OT
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 51 points, becoming the first Jazz player to score 50 points in a regular season since Karl Malone in 1998, and Utah beat Phoenix in overtime.
Markkanen helped the Jazz rally after they blew a seven-point lead in the final 19 seconds of regulation by scoring seven points in the extra period. He also finished the game with 14 rebounds.
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Markkanen made all 17 free throws and surpassed his previous record of 49 points, set on January 5, 2023. It was the best regular-season performance by a Utah player since Malone scored 56 points against Golden State on April 7, 1998.
Keyontae George had 26 points and 10 assists and Walker Kessler had 25 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for the Jazz.
Devin Booker scored 24 of his 34 points after halftime and Grayson Allen added 23 for the Suns. Jalen Green (hamstring) and Dillon Brooks (groin) were out for Phoenix, but Mark Williams returned from a knee injury with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
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WARRIORS 131, GRIZZLY 118
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jonathan Kuminga had 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, Brandin Podziemski added 23 points and six assists and Golden State ran away from Memphis in the third quarter to win.
Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody each scored 20 points and Stephen Curry added 16 in Golden State's balanced attack.
Draymond Green had 10 assists before fouling out with 7:32 left. He picked up one flagrant foul with 3:48 left in the third quarter on a hard tackle from behind on Santi Aldama after intercepting the Memphis forward as he drove to the basket. Aldama missed both free throws and Green was happily prancing around.
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Aldama had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Ja Morant had 23 points and nine assists for Memphis but missed all six of his 3-point attempts. Jock Landale had 17 points and six rebounds.
TRAIL BLAZERS 122, LAKERS 108
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Deni Avdija scored 25 points, Jrue Holiday had 24 points and six assists and Portland held on shorthanded Los Angeles.
Jerami Grant added 22 points off the bench for the Blazers, who earned their first road win of the season for the second game in a row following a 114-107 loss to the Clippers on Sunday. Shadon Sharp and Donovan Clingan each contributed 16 points.
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Austin Reeves scored 41 points to complete his career-high 51 in a 127-120 win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.but the rest of the depleted Lakers struggled to create offense around him. Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton each scored 16 points and Jared Vanderbilt scored 14 points.
Associated Press
