76ers Crash Knicks Championship Party With Season-Opening Victory

The NBA is back in a  major way. 

On a night that saw the New York Knicks receive their championship ring, the Philadelphia 76ers looked to play spoiler on opening night.

After an emotional tribute to the Knicks, the 76ers started out hot, scoring the first six points of the game. Tyrese Maxey scored all six as he hit back-to-back threes. After that, it became a track race. Each possession felt like a race against the clock. As both teams began to settle in, it seemed the 76ers had the same struggles many saw in the preseason in this game. The offensive glass as well as the interior defense continues to haunt Philadelphia. Andre Drummond, a former 76er, abused the pain with four points and five rebounds. The Knicks led after one quarter, 25-23.

In the second quarter, the Knicks bench helped to balloon the lead by 10. In that quarter we continued to see the 76ers continue to struggle for the field. One of the bright spots in the second quarter was Maxey, who had 12 points in the first half.  Joel Embiid, who had a rough half shooting, 

It was a slow start for the 76ers' newest stars; Jaylen Brown couldn’t buy a shot in the first half, while LeBron James didn’t make scoring the priority as he looked to get everyone else involved. James had five points with five assists and four rebounds. The 76ers stayed in the game and were only down by four at the half. The Knicks bench outscored the 76ers 25-8.

In the third quarter, James began to wake up and scored six points, all in transition, and the 76ers managed to retake the lead for a brief moment midway through the quarter. The bench, who had a hard time, found their footing from the shooting of Anfernee Simons, who made three 3-pointers that got the 76ers some momentum.  Their defense began to smother the Knicks as they forced numerous turnovers that helped to lead to an 11-0 run.  The 76ers took an 83-76 lead after another blunder by the Knicks led to an inbound three from Brown as the quarter came to a close.

The Knicks wouldn’t go away quietly as their defense turned to offense as they pushed the deficit down to three. But the 76ers wouldn’t be denied, as they had an answer every time down the floor, and the best part was it was never the same player who scored for this team. Down the stretch the Knicks cut the lead to four, but the comeback feels short as the Knicks fall to the 76ers 106-100.

The 76ers stars combined for 83 points as they start the season 1-0.

James finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Maxey led the team with 28 points.