Sixers Hold Off Bulls, Celtics Rout Bucks, Flagg Dishes 12 in Sunday's NBA Roundup

Sunday's seven-game slate had a little of everything at the top and a lot of separation at the bottom. The Sixers held off the Bulls in Chicago to stay on top of the East, the Celtics routed the Bucks in Milwaukee after trailing by 14, and Cooper Flagg dishes out a career-high 12 assists in a 37-point Dallas win over Brooklyn. Austin Reaves and the Lakers won in Detroit, Minnesota won its fourth straight, the Clippers finally won again, and Miami closed out Sacramento on the road.

76ers 127, Bulls 121 — the starters did all of it

Philadelphia's starting five scored 102 of the team's 127 points in Chicago, and it still got tight late. Jaylen Brown led the 76ers with 29 points, Tyrese Maxey added 27 with seven assists, and LeBron James scored a season-high 22 — his best night since joining Philadelphia — while Joel Embiid put up 18 points and 10 rebounds and VJ Edgecombe chipped in 13. The Associated Press account of the game, carried by Sportsnet, had Philadelphia grabbing the lead early in the second quarter and never trailing again, though the Bulls pulled within two in the closing stages.

James pointed to the group's composure afterward. "We have a lot of guys that's been in situations, late-game situations, and we have a 'no panic' button," James said, according to Flashscore's recap of the game. Josh Giddey nearly dragged Chicago back by himself with 19 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds, and Matas Buzelis also scored 19, but the Bulls lost their seventh straight to fall to 1-8. Philadelphia is 9-2 — its best 11-game start since the 2000-01 team opened 10-1 — and the 76ers now get Boston at home on Tuesday in a meeting of the East's top two records.

Celtics 117, Bucks 97 — a 14-point hole, gone in one run

Milwaukee opened this game like a team tired of losing. Kyle Kuzma scored 14 points in the first five minutes and the Bucks led 20-6. Then Jayson Tatum scored the final 10 points of the first quarter to cut it to 27-25, Paul George scored the first eight of the second, and an 18-0 Boston run flipped the night for good. George finished with 27 points and Tatum 21 — enough that Boston sat Tatum for the entire fourth quarter — while Neemias Queta added 13 points and nine rebounds. The Celtics led 58-45 at halftime, scored the first nine of the third, and never let the margin under 15 again, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's account.

Kuzma's 27 was nearly a third of Milwaukee's offense. Tyler Herro added 13, and Myles Turner managed three points — he has shot 1 of 15 over his last two games after a scoreless NBA Cup outing against Toronto on Friday. The Bucks are 1-9, losers of six straight, off to their worst start since the 1993-94 team lost 10 of its first 11. This was also the second Boston win over Milwaukee in five nights; the Celtics took the first meeting 109-102 on Wednesday while resting Tatum.

Mavericks 130, Nets 93 — Flagg ran the whole show

Cooper Flagg scored 20 points in the first half, then spent the second and third quarters feeding everybody else. He finished with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting, five rebounds and a career-high 12 assists in 28 minutes — his third straight double-double and fourth of the season. The Associated Press noted, via the NBA, that Flagg is the first teenager in league history to record 25 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in under 30 minutes. Five of Daniel Gafford's seven baskets came off Flagg passes, the Dallas Sports Journal counted, and Gafford finished with 18 points and three blocks. Kyrie Irving scored 21 against his former team.

"[Flagg is] a phenomenal player," Gafford said in his postgame interview, as quoted by Mavs Moneyball. "Everybody is paying attention to him, and that leaves me with open shots." Dallas coach Dusty May told the Dallas Sports Journal that Flagg's passing was the first thing that struck him when he studied him: "I was shocked at how good of a passer he was and what type of court vision." Dallas shot a season-best 57.1 percent, scored a season-high 130 points, led 66-46 at the half and won the paint 64-40. The 37-point margin was the Mavericks' largest since October 22, 2022. Brooklyn never led; Michael Porter Jr. had 19 points and nine rebounds and Nolan Traore 14 for a Nets team that fell to 2-8 on the second night of a back-to-back.

The two games we covered in full

Austin Reaves scored 43 points without Luka Dončić, who sat with lower-back tightness, and the Lakers held off a Detroit rally for a 121-116 win at Little Caesars Arena. Detroit trailed 40-14 early in the second quarter and still nearly stole it behind Daniss Jenkins' 31 points off the bench. In Minneapolis, Ayo Dosunmu scored 26 and LaMelo Ball 24 as Minnesota beat Utah 115-100 for a fourth straight win. The Timberwolves are 8-3 and 5-2 without Anthony Edwards, who is expected to miss two months after knee surgery on October 29. Utah lost its eighth straight despite 26 points from rookie Darryn Peterson; Keyonte George scored 19 before leaving the fourth quarter with a sprained right ankle, and the Jazz played without Lauri Markkanen (right wrist).

Clippers 139, Pelicans 123 — the skid ends

The Clippers had not won since opening night. They fixed that with a season-high 139 points on 54.8 percent shooting. Darius Garland had 24 points and 10 assists, Brook Lopez scored 20, and Gradey Dick and rookie Keaton Wagler added 15 apiece. A 15-6 run to open the fourth pushed the lead to 117-101, and this time Los Angeles held it after blowing double-digit fourth-quarter leads in its previous two games. Trey Murphy III scored 26 for New Orleans, with Zion Williamson and Jeremiah Fears at 25 each, but the Pelicans fell to 4-6.

Heat 114, Kings 108 — Giannis closes it

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks for Miami, Klay Thompson hit seven three-pointers on his way to 23, and Bam Adebayo added 18 points and eight rebounds. Sacramento tied it at 95 with 6:12 left on two De'Andre Hunter free throws; the Heat outscored the Kings 19-13 the rest of the way. Darius Acuff Jr. was superb in defeat — 32 points and 10 assists — but the Kings are 1-9 and still winless at home, playing without Domantas Sabonis.

What Monday brings

Dallas closes its home back-to-back against Indiana, and the Lakers visit Atlanta. The league's Monday injury report, per TalkBasket and DraftKings Network, lists Nikola Jokic (elbow) and Jamal Murray (shin) as questionable for Denver, and Anthony Davis (ankle) as questionable for Washington. Full scores and standings live in the Previously NBA hub.