The Sixers opened their season with a tight road win and a little bit of everything that comes with October basketball: star shot-making, turnover-fueled runs, shaky stretches from deep and a closing stretch that felt controlled enough to get the job done.
Philadelphia beat the Knicks 106-100 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, with Tyrese Maxey pouring in 28 points and adding five assists. Jaylen Brown chipped in 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while LeBron James finished with 14 points, seven boards and seven assists. Joel Embiid added 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Jalen Brunson led New York with 21 points on 6-for-19 shooting.
The Sixers were without Dominick Barlow, who is dealing with a lower back stress reaction and is scheduled to be re-evaluated in two weeks, according to the team’s Monday night announcement. Dean Wade missed with a left ankle sprain after originally being listed as questionable. Ariel Hukporti was also out with a right Achilles tendon tear, and Tacko Fall sat with a left quadriceps strain.
Before the game, Hukporti received his championship ring during the Knicks’ pregame ceremony while using a scooter with his leg elevated. He won a title with New York last season before signing with the Sixers in free agency. He tore his Achilles in the preseason opener.
Maxey wasted no time setting the tone. He knocked down the Sixers’ first two shots from beyond the arc, then missed a clean look that would have pushed the start even higher.
Philadelphia’s opening quarter also featured a memorable early stint for Andre Drummond, the former Sixer now debuting for the Knicks. When Karl-Anthony Towns picked up his second foul with 8:46 left in the first, Drummond came in and immediately altered a mid-range attempt by Embiid.
Embiid answered right back on the next encounter, slipping past Drummond for an easy layup. But the big man didn’t have a smooth first quarter overall, going 1 for 5 and losing a couple of contested rebounds.
Drummond, though, settled in quickly and did what he always does around the glass. He turned in a long enough stretch to make his presence felt physically, then reached a double-double with a put-back layup at the 9:42 mark of the second quarter.
Philadelphia’s defense showed some real bite early. The Sixers stayed attached on the ball and kept the Knicks from getting the kind of sloppy breakdowns that can pop up when a team is still figuring itself out.
VJ Edgecombe was particularly sharp on that end, including a possession late in the first quarter when he stayed glued to Anunoby and forced an air-ball. He was excellent defensively all night.
New York still led 25-23 after Brunson slipped in a floater over Edgecombe with 3.3 seconds left in the opening period, but the Knicks didn’t exactly crack the game open. They shot 37 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from three in the first quarter.
The Sixers, meanwhile, had to wait a bit for the offense to catch up. James’ passing was obvious from the jump - he delivered one crisp baseline feed to Anfernee Simons that should have produced a corner three, but Simons missed. Philadelphia started the night just 3 for 20 from deep.
The second quarter brought more of the same on the glass and a different look from Nurse’s group. Jabari Walker was the fourth bench player to enter, replacing Adem Bona at center, and ended up spending time matched with Drummond. The Knicks pushed their lead to 10 on a Jordan Clarkson layup, but the Sixers trimmed things down before halftime.
James moved to center for the final 2:39 of the first half after Embiid went to the bench, and Philadelphia’s offense looked cleaner with him there. The team moved the ball better, defended with more activity late in the second quarter and forced a few turnovers to keep the halftime margin to four.
That stretch made one thing pretty clear: James at center isn’t the first choice, but it may be something Nurse keeps in the pocket early this season.
Philadelphia then used turnovers to flip the game in the third quarter. After a Brown-to-James alley-oop, James came up with a steal and finished in transition. Another fast-break layup from him put the Sixers ahead 64-63.
Simons then found his rhythm. He scored 13 points and knocked down three important jumpers in the third, snapping the Sixers out of a deep cold spell.
He missed the preseason because of a hamstring injury, but he wasted little time showing why the Sixers value his shooting. The 27-year-old combo guard looks like a real weapon for the second unit.
Brown closed the third with a pair of threes, including a buzzer-beater that gave Philadelphia an 83-76 edge heading into the fourth.
Maxey came out aggressive to start the final period, and his and-one runner stretched the lead to nine. New York answered, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit two huge threes to cool the Knicks’ push. A Towns jumper made it a one-point game, and the Sixers responded again.
Embiid drilled a long jumper, then delivered one of the biggest plays of the night when the Knicks blitzed Maxey in the pick-and-roll. Embiid caught the ball on the short roll, found Edgecombe, and fed him for a dunk.
From there, Philadelphia handled the finish. The Sixers walked out of Madison Square Garden with a 106-100 win and the first victory of their new, star-loaded season. Their home opener is Thursday night against the Cavaliers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
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