NEW YORK (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers sent an opening-night message they'll be a contender for the New York Knicks' NBA title after adding LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, rallying for a 106-100 victory Tuesday.
Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points and Brown had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his first game since being acquired from Boston. James began his NBA-record 24th season by finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
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The 76ers got three 3-pointers from Anfernee Simons and two from fellow newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, as the reserves took advantage of the open looks they got when the Knicks were caught focusing too much on the bigger names.
Jalen Brunson scored 21 points but the NBA Finals MVP shot just 6 for 19 from the field.
Brunson told fans inside Madison Square Garden in a pregame ceremony when the Knicks raised their NBA championship banner and received their rings that: “The joy that this city had this summer, we would love to replicate that again.”
Maybe they can, but they will have to play a lot better than they did Tuesday in shooting 37% overall and 33.3% on 3s. Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points and 12 rebounds.
The Knicks dominated the 76ers in a second-round sweep, early on during their streak of 13 straight victories as part of a 16-3 finish with the highest point differential in NBA postseason history.
Philadelphia then went out and traded for Brown and signed James after the NBA’s career scoring leader decided to leave the Los Angeles Lakers, setting the 76ers up with the potential to be one of the best teams in the league.
They certainly didn’t have a smooth start but played better as the game went on. The Sixers closed the third quarter with an 11-0 run, capped by Brown’s second straight 3-pointer that came at the buzzer and gave Philadelphia an 83-76 lead.
Maxey’s three-point play early in the fourth made it 87-78. The Knicks cut it to 96-95 when Towns made a 3-pointer, but Joel Embiid answered with one and the Sixers stayed ahead.
Embiid finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Brunson, wearing gold sneakers for the occasion, couldn’t help the Knicks recover by hitting the type of big shots he did when they repeatedly came back to beat San Antonio in five games for their first championship since 1973.
The festive pregame party gave way to a first half filled with long stretches of fouls and missed shots, not leaving much reason for the cheers to continue. The Knicks went ahead by 10 with one good flurry but it was down to 58-54 at halftime.
76ers: Host Cleveland on Thursday night.
Knicks: Visit Boston on Friday night.
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