LeBron James has made his highly anticipated Sixers debut against the Boston Celtics. The NBA veteran scored eight points in his home preseason debut for the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, logging 25 minutes. Further, James brought eight rebounds and seven assists. He opened with a missed three-pointer on the first possession and had to wait until midway through the first quarter for his first basket in a Sixers uniform. Joel Embiid led Philadelphia in scoring, and both Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown reached 20 points or more. Coach Nick Nurse took James out with 3:25 left in the third quarter.
How did LeBron James play in his 76ers debut?
Joel Embiid won the opening tip and the ball went straight to LeBron James, who missed from three. His first basket came later in the quarter off a steal. He tipped a pass from Boston’s Hayden Gray toward Maxey, sprinted ahead with no defender near him, and finished a Maxey lob with a fast-break dunk. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer was on the board.The two worked well together from there. On one possession James set a screen at the top of the key, cut to the rim and laid in a Maxey pass. On several others he brought the ball up the court himself, which took ballhandling off Maxey and let the guard move without it, either toward the basket or to the corner for open threes.By the time Nurse sent Brown in for him, James had eight points, eight rebounds, seven assists and a steal. His plus-minus of +17 was the best among the main contributors, and it came on a night when three teammates scored 20 or more.
Who else stood out for the 76ers against the Celtics?
Embiid led the team in scoring and went 11 of 13 at the free-throw line, moving easily on a frame reportedly 20 to 25 pounds lighter than last season. Boston was missing Mitchell Robinson and Neemias Queta, so he never had to deal with either one. Maxey backed him with 22 points and six assists on 7-of-11 shooting.Brown had his own storyline. Philadelphia acquired him from Boston in July, and Friday was his first game against the Celtics since the trade. He played 31 minutes and finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Jayson Tatum was not there to face, either, since Boston rested several starters, among them Robinson, Derrick White and Paul George, who went to the Celtics in the Brown deal.The Sixers’ last outing, a 144-106 loss at Boston a week earlier, had none of this. James, Embiid, Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope all sat out that game.Caldwell-Pope added seven points and two assists in 21 minutes, and Jabari Walker gave the bench a boost with 13 points and four rebounds, going 4 of 8 from the field and 5 of 5 at the line. Other reserves had a harder time finding a rhythm.The regular season opens Tuesday, when Philadelphia visits the defending champion New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Boston travels to Detroit the same day.