Philadelphia Holds Off Chicago Behind 78 Points From Trio

Philadelphia improved to 9-2 with the win, its strongest opening through 11 games since the 2000-01 season. Joel Embiid contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds, while VJ Edgecombe scored 13. James’ 22 points marked his highest total so far in a 76ers uniform and a season high.

Josh Giddey led Chicago with 19 points and 15 assists, and Matas Buzelis also scored 19. Caleb Wilson had 18, Jalen Smith 17, Isaac Okoro 12 and Noa Essengue 10. The loss was the Bulls’ seventh in a row, leaving them 1-8. That ties the third-worst start through nine games in franchise history; Chicago opened 0-9 in both 1967-68 and 2004-05.

James moved past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the leading scorer in games against Chicago. His early three-pointer brought his career total against the Bulls to 1,897, two more than Abdul-Jabbar had scored against them. James reached the mark in his 70th regular-season game against Chicago, while Abdul-Jabbar played 76. Brown, who scored 29 on 11-for-22 shooting, is scheduled to face Boston on Tuesday in Philadelphia for the first time in a regular-season game since the Celtics traded him there in the offseason. The 76ers host Boston next; Chicago hosts San Antonio on Wednesday.