Sixers turn the tables on Cavaliers

Former Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown, another of Philadelphia's marquee signings during the summer transfer period, scored 21 points with eight rebounds, while James, a four-time league champion, added 17 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, contributing to the Sixers achieving the largest comeback in the detailed statistics era that began in 1996.

It was also the biggest comeback in James' storied career. The league's all-time leading scorer said the win was good, but it was a situation he didn't want to be in very often.

He added, "You don't want to rely on that. I think it's great to know deep down that we won't give up. You never want to look around and say the guys gave up. But you don't want to put yourself in those situations very often."

Cleveland, which felt disappointed after failing to bring back its prodigal son LeBron following his announcement that he was leaving the Los Angeles Lakers after eight seasons, seemed determined to show what they were missing.

Donovan Mitchell scored 22 of his 32 points in the first half and led the Cavaliers to dominate the game against the Sixers, who struggled to find their rhythm and protect the ball.

Embiid looked slow and tired, while James lost five of his 15 balls in the first half for Philadelphia, which resulted in 22 points for Cleveland and drew boos from the Philadelphia fans, whose hopes of competing for the title had risen after signing James and Brown.

But the boos turned into loud cheers after the Sixers opened the third quarter with an 11-0 run. The hosts cut the deficit to less than 10 points thanks to two consecutive baskets by Maxey that made the score 80-73.

In contrast, the Cavaliers' players seemed unable to regain their balance. Maxey cut the deficit to just two points with 2:33 minutes left in the third quarter with a drive that he finished with a basket, before Cleveland scored six consecutive points to enter the final quarter leading 90-82.

But the Sixers, who defeated the defending champion New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, kept up the pressure and outscored the Cavaliers 60-37 in the second half, tightening their defense and committing only two turnovers.

Evan Mobley scored 18 points for Cleveland, but he was limited to just three points in the second half, while Jarrett Allen scored 14 points without scoring any after the break.

Sixers player AJ Edgecombe said: "We stayed together, and that's the most important thing. When things went bad, we could have given up, but we didn't. It was an early test in the season and an early adversity, and we managed to overcome it."

Thunder win despite Gilgeous-Alexander's streak ending

In Oklahoma City, the Thunder clinched the game in the final minutes against their guests, the Denver Nuggets, with a score of 96-84, despite a difficult evening for their Canadian star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league's MVP over the past two seasons, whose streak of games with 20 points or more ended at 141 games.

Gilgeous-Alexander missed all seven of his attempts in the first half and made only two of 13 shots through the first three quarters. Nevertheless, Oklahoma City entered the final quarter leading 70-64, led by Jalen Williams, who scored a game-high 21 points.

Gilgeous-Alexander managed to make four of six attempts in the final quarter, scoring 10 points, finishing the game with a respectable 17 points, in his first regular-season game scoring less than 20 points since October 30, 2024, when he scored 18 points against the San Antonio Spurs.

As for the Serbian giant Nikola Jokic, a three-time league MVP, he also had a quiet game, scoring only 13 points after hitting five of 19 attempts, with seven rebounds and five assists. Aaron Gordon was Denver's top scorer with 20 points.