Philadelphia extends its NBA winning streak, San Antonio earns its first win

Philadelphia, without James, defeated Milwaukee

The Philadelphia 76ers extended their perfect start to the NBA season, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 127:116 on Saturday, AFP reports. Veteran LeBron James, who signed a contract with the club, was resting, but that did not stop the team from confidently pulling away from their opponent and improving their record to 3-0 in the Eastern Conference. Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with a triple-double: 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Jaylen Brown, who celebrated his 30th birthday, scored 27 points, Tyrese Maxey added 26, V. J. Edgecombe made five three-pointers and scored 17 points, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed 12 points off the bench. “It’s great to start well, but we still have a lot of work to do. Winning now is nice, but we need to get better quickly,” AFP quotes Brown as saying.

San Antonio snapped its losing streak

In Dallas, the San Antonio Spurs, after two losses to Oklahoma City and Houston at the start, earned their first win of the season, beating the Mavericks 122:106. The hosts played without the injured Cooper Flagg. Victor Wembanyama scored 23 points, Dylan Harper 22, and De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle added 19 each.

Houston remained undefeated, Miami remained winless

The Houston Rockets continued their confident start, beating the Atlanta Hawks 121:114 on the road and improving their record to 3-0. In the head-to-head meeting of two undefeated teams, Houston’s balanced roster proved decisive: seven players scored in double figures, led by Kevin Durant with 22 points. The Miami Heat suffered their third straight loss, falling 110:115 on the road to the Charlotte Hornets. Brandon Miller scored 34 points, Dennis Schröder 25, and Charlotte improved its record to 2-1. Miami rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo was limited to 14 points. The club trailed 96:75 heading into the fourth quarter, managed to tie the game, but failed to complete the comeback. According to AFP, this is the first time since the 2007/08 season that Miami has lost all three of its opening games. “We need far more inspiration throughout all 48 minutes”, said head coach Erik Spoelstra. In other games, Cleveland beat Brooklyn 125:121, and Washington, thanks to 25 points from Trae Young, defeated Chicago 124:120.

The significance of the season’s start

After three rounds, two groups of teams have emerged: the undefeated Philadelphia and Houston (both 3-0) and Miami, which has flopped at the start (0-3). For Philadelphia fans, what matters is that the team is winning even without James, while for Miami, the concern is that the club has already matched its worst start in nearly two decades and, according to Spoelstra, the team must quickly turn things around. The results of the opening games directly affect the balance of power in the conferences, although, as Brown noted, the early stage of the season guarantees little.