LeBron James Scores 14 in 76ers Debut as Philadelphia Beats Knicks 106-100 on Banner Night

The Philadelphia 76ers opened their season by crashing the Knicks' party. They beat the defending NBA champions 106-100 on Tuesday night, Oct. 20, at Madison Square Garden, the same night New York raised its title banner and handed out rings.

LeBron James, 41, played his first game as a Sixer. He is in a record 24th season with his fourth team after leaving the Lakers. He finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and one turnover in 34 minutes.

He shot 5 of 13 and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. He called his own performance short of his standard.

"I could be a lot better," James told NBC. "Still getting my rhythm, obviously just a little bit over two weeks with the new squad. But I like the way we played. I think we played exceptionally well, especially defensively."

How Philadelphia won

The Knicks led 58-54 at halftime. The game turned in the third quarter, when the Sixers outscored New York 29-18.

James turned two straight Karl-Anthony Towns turnovers into easy baskets at the rim, one an alley-oop dunk off a Jaylen Brown pass. Brown closed the quarter with a buzzer-beating 3 on an inbounds pass from James. Philadelphia led 83-76 going into the fourth and the Knicks never got the lead back.

Tyrese Maxey scored 28, opening the game with back-to-back 3s. Brown, who arrived from Boston in July in the trade that sent Paul George the other way, had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Joel Embiid had 13 points and 11 rebounds despite shooting 4 of 15.

The Sixers shot 41.6% as a team. The Knicks were worse, at 37% from the floor and 33% from three.

Jalen Brunson, the Finals MVP, scored 21 on 6-of-19 shooting. Towns added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Andre Drummond had 12 points and 14 rebounds.

The Garden had opinions

Knicks fans greeted James with chants of "We don't want you!" when he stepped to the free-throw line early in the game. James and his agent, Rich Paul, had said the Knicks would have been his first choice in free agency had New York not won the title. The Knicks did win, and the fans let him know it.

Late in the second quarter, with the Knicks up 56-50 and Brunson at the line, James traded words with fans in the lower level. Audio from a fan video suggests he told them he's not a Midwest kid, he's "an Ohio baby." Spike Lee was seen trying to calm things down. Reggie Miller, on the NBC broadcast, said: "Boy, I've seen everything."

The cause of the exchange is not settled. NBC's Mike Tirico said the fans were taunting James about the helicopter he uses to commute between his New York City apartment and the Sixers' games and practices in Philadelphia. The chants at the free-throw line pointed to the Knicks free-agency angle instead. James has not said what set it off.

The helicopter is provided by Fanatics under James' endorsement deal with the company. NBA commissioner Adam Silver was asked about it earlier Tuesday. Michael Rubin, the Fanatics founder and CEO and a former Sixers minority owner, also commented.

James was gracious about the Knicks' night. "I wouldn't say that," he said when asked whether it was spoiled. "It was a great night for New York fans. Fifty-plus years. I was a part of that at one point where we hadn't won a major championship in Cleveland in over 50 years. The fans will never forget this moment."

He also admitted the win had extra flavor. "It's pretty special," he said of beating a team on its ring night.

Brunson told the crowd before the game that the Knicks were "ready to turn the page as a team" and wanted to repeat the joy of last summer. No team has repeated as champion since 2018.

What the win does and doesn't settle

One game proves little. Philadelphia was swept by the Knicks in last season's Eastern Conference semifinals. The franchise hasn't won a title since 1983 and, per CBS Sports, hasn't made it out of the second round in 25 years.

The Sixers started James, Brown, Embiid, Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. The Associated Press noted that all but Edgecombe have been the primary ballhandler on their previous teams. Who gets the ball in crunch time, and who sacrifices the most, were open questions entering the game.

The early evidence is mixed. Seven of the team's 28 assists came from James, and Maxey carried the scoring. Embiid and James both shot poorly, and Philadelphia still won.

Around the league

The opening day also included two other results. Detroit beat Boston 121-113 behind 22 points each from Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren. Paul George scored 38 in his Celtics debut.

Oklahoma City beat San Antonio 116-104 as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32. Victor Wembanyama hit one of 13 shots for the Spurs but had 13 rebounds and six blocks.

The Knicks and Sixers now have the rest of the schedule to sort out which version of Tuesday night was the real one.