Sixers Stay Perfect Without LeBron

The Philadelphia 76ers made it three wins from three to open the NBA regular season, claiming a 127-116 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Philadelphia didn't miss a beat despite the absence of LeBron James, who sat out his first game of the campaign due to lingering sciatic nerve issues.

Just over a month away from his 42nd birthday, the veteran was rested by the coaching staff for the first game of a back-to-back set. Dean Wade stepped into the starting lineup alongside VJ Edgecombe, who chipped in with 17 points.

The scoring burden fell on the rest of the Sixers' core trio, who combined for 81 points. Joel Embiid posted a triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Jaylen Brown contributed 27 points and Tyrese Maxey added 26. The win was sealed down the stretch: Brown drained a three-pointer off an Embiid assist to make it 120-114, before Kentavious Caldwell-Pope stretched the lead to nine with another dagger from deep.

For the Bucks, who alongside the Miami Heat remain winless in the Eastern Conference after three games, Jaime Jáquez Jr. led the charge with 21 points.

It is a starkly different story for the Golden State Warriors, who suffered a 131-122 defeat against the Phoenix Suns. For the first time since the 2007-08 season—and for the first time in the Stephen Curry era since he was drafted in 2009—the Bay Area franchise has opened the season with three straight losses.

Playing their third game in just four nights, the Warriors were heavily depleted. Stephen Curry, 38, was rested due to right knee soreness, joining Brandin Podziemski, Draymond Green, and Al Horford on the sidelines, all nursing back issues. The injury report also includes Jimmy Butler, sidelined until late in the season after tearing his right ACL in January, and Kristaps Porzingis, who is considering retirement amid a nervous system disorder linked to fatigue, tachycardia, and dizziness.

Devin Booker stole the show for the Suns with a devastating 43-point performance on 17-of-25 shooting from the field, including 17 points in the third quarter alone. The Warriors tried to stay in contention, but a Luke Kennard three-pointer pushed the deficit to 15 with six minutes remaining, snuffing out any hope of a comeback.

Faced with the team's worst start in 19 years, head coach Steve Kerr played down the slump and called for calm: "It's just a process. Keep working. We'll learn from this, but we're not going to lose our spirit."