76ers beat champion Knicks 106-100 on NBA opening night as James and Brown debut

Opening night at Madison Square Garden

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the New York Knicks 106-100 on Tuesday, 20 October, in the first game of the NBA season. The Knicks raised their championship banner and handed out rings before tip-off, marking the title they won over the San Antonio Spurs last season after a 53-year drought. Philadelphia trailed 58-54 at halftime, took an 83-76 lead into the fourth quarter and held it. New York shot 37% overall and 33.3% on three-pointers. Jalen Brunson, the NBA Finals MVP, told fans during the pregame ceremony:

The joy that this city had this summer, we would love to replicate that again.

The Knicks had the first season game they wanted to avoid, and the score timeline shows how the lead changed hands.

LeBron James and Jaylen Brown make their debuts

LeBron James, 41, opened his 24th NBA season, a league record, after seven years with the Los Angeles Lakers, and scored 14 points with nine rebounds. AP reports six assists for him, while BBC reports seven, so that figure is not settled across sources. Jaylen Brown, acquired from the Boston Celtics in a trade for Paul George, had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his first game for the team. Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 28 points. Spiegel reported that when asked about a similar player, James named Dennis Schröder, his former Lakers teammate, as the first comparison for Maxey's speed on both ends. James said after the game:

I think we played exceptionally well, especially defensively.

Knicks scoring and shooting

Jalen Brunson scored 21 points but shot just 6-for-19 from the field. Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Philadelphia's reserves found open looks when the Knicks focused on the bigger names, with Anfernee Simons hitting three 3-pointers and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope two.

Other openers and next games

In Detroit the Pistons beat the Boston Celtics 121-113 after trailing by as many as 22 points, closing the game with a 23-0 run in the fourth quarter. Paul George scored 38 points for Boston in his debut for the Celtics. In the late game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 as Oklahoma City beat San Antonio 116-104, while Victor Wembanyama made one basket in 13 attempts and finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The 76ers host Cleveland on Thursday, 22 October, and the Knicks visit Boston on Friday, 23 October.