Washington (AFP) – Reigning champion Oklahoma City, the Philadelphia 76ers, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Chicago Bulls remained undefeated with impressive NBA triumphs on Monday. The league’s last four undefeated clubs topped a busy 11-game slate.
Philadelphia guard Tyrese Maxey scored 43 points, and Bahamian rookie guard VJ Edgecombe added 26 to lead the 76ers (3-0) to a 136-124 home triumph over Orlando. “He’s elite, man,” Edgecombe said of Maxey, his partner in the NBA’s top-scoring backcourt starters through three games. “Very versatile, super fun guy to play with.” Edgecombe, the third pick in this year’s NBA Draft, added a spark as Cameroonian big man Joel Embiid was benched by the Sixers for left knee injury management. “It’s a must-win every night,” Edgecombe said.
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Oklahoma City got 23 points from reigning NBA Most Valuable Player and scoring champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, plus 18 points and 11 rebounds from Chet Holmgren in a 101-94 victory at Dallas. The Mavericks outscored Oklahoma City 25-14 in the fourth quarter but could not rally for the win. D’Angelo Russell’s floater lifted Dallas within 95-94 with 54.8 seconds remaining, but Isaiah Hartenstein answered with a layup to give the Thunder a 97-94 edge. Russell missed an attempted tying three-point shot, and Holmgren rebounded for Oklahoma City, setting up two free throws by Gilgeous-Alexander with 21.3 seconds remaining. Gilgeous-Alexander rebounded a Dallas three-point miss, and Holmgren sank two final free throws to clinch the Thunder victory to reach 4-0.
Victor Wembanyama continued his strong start to the 2025-26 campaign, scoring 24 points and grabbing 15 rebounds to lead San Antonio’s 121-103 home triumph over Toronto. Stephon Castle added 22 points for the Spurs, who improved to 4-0.
Chicago’s Ayo Dosunmu scored 21 points to lead eight Bulls double-digit scorers in a 128-123 home victory over Atlanta. Dosunmu hit 7-of-10 shots, 4-of-6 from three-point range, while Nikola Vucevic added 17 points, 17 rebounds, and nine assists. Josh Giddey contributed 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, who improved to 3-0. Kristaps Porzingis led the Hawks with 27 points.
Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points, and Jarrett Allen added 20 to lead the Cavaliers’ 116-95 romp at Detroit, while reserve Tari Eason had 22 points and Alperen Sengun added 21 to power Houston’s 137-109 home rout of Brooklyn. Anfernee Simons scored 25 points off the bench, and the Boston Celtics cruised to victory 122-90 at New Orleans.
Later games saw Phoenix at Utah, Denver at Minnesota, Memphis at Golden State, and Portland at the Los Angeles Lakers.
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