LeBron James scored 20 points, including a crucial late tip-in, to help the Philadelphia 76ers secure a 98-93 victory over the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks on Friday. The win marked the 76ers’ second triumph over the Knicks early in the season, following a previous victory at Madison Square Garden on opening night where Philadelphia disrupted New York’s championship banner-raising ceremony.
Friday’s games also marked the opening of the fourth edition of the NBA Cup, an in-season tournament introduced last year. The Knicks, who won the inaugural NBA Cup before going on to claim their first NBA title since 1973 by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals, will face further group-stage games throughout November. These games count toward the regular season standings. The tournament’s quarter-finals are scheduled for December 4-5, the semi-finals December 8-9, with the final set for December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 27 points, helping Philadelphia gain an early advantage against a turnover-prone Knicks squad. The 76ers built a 14-point lead in the third quarter but had to hold off a late rally by New York. Jalen Brunson’s step-back three-pointer put the Knicks ahead 90-89 with just over a minute remaining. James responded with a basket to regain the lead for Philadelphia and sealed the victory with a tip-in following a Maxey miss, with less than 12 seconds left on the clock.
In addition to his scoring, James contributed nine rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and a notable chase-down block. The 41-year-old’s performance was praised by 76ers coach Nick Nurse, who called it James’s best game since joining the team as a free agent in June. “He was really good all the way through,” Nurse said. “He used his size to get downhill and knock them around for layups… He pushed and organized the team. That was his best game, for sure.”
Brunson led New York with 24 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and 12 rebounds as the Knicks fell to a 2-4 record early in the season.
In another game on Friday, the Dallas Mavericks rallied to defeat the Houston Rockets 116-111, handing Houston its first loss of the season. Kyrie Irving scored 35 points and Cooper Flagg added 33 to help Dallas overcome a first-half deficit. The Rockets led by as many as 11 points and held an eight-point advantage going into the fourth quarter. Irving’s three-pointer with just over seven minutes remaining put Dallas ahead to stay, despite Houston briefly tying the game twice in the final moments.
“We weren’t proud of our effort in the first half,” Irving said. “At halftime, we looked at each other and knew we had to do better. In the second half, we definitely brought it.”