Observations after Sixers start with a bang, beat Knicks on opening night

Observations after Sixers start with a bang, beat Knicks on opening night  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

NEW YORK — After a summer of fireworks, the Sixers started their season with a bang.

They pulled off a narrow victory over the defending champions, snagging a 106-100 win over the Knicks on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. 

Tyrese Maxey led the way with 28 points and five assists. Jaylen Brown posted 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. 

LeBron James tallied 14 points, nine boards and seven assists. Joel Embiid recorded 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. 

Jalen Brunson was the Knicks’ top scorer with 21 points on 6-for-19 shooting. 

The Sixers were down Dominick Barlow (lower back stress reaction), Dean Wade (left ankle sprain), Ariel Hukporti (right Achilles tendon tear) and Tacko Fall (left quadriceps strain).

Barlow is set to be re-evaluated in two weeks, the Sixers announced Monday. Wade had initially been listed as questionable. He rolled his ankle last Friday in the Sixers’ preseason finale against the Celtics.

With his leg elevated on a scooter, Hukporti received his championship ring during the Knicks’ pregame festivities. He won a title with New York last season before joining the Sixers in free agency. The lefty big man tore his Achilles in the preseason opener.

The Sixers will play their first home game of the regular season Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena vs. the Cavaliers. Here are observations on their win at the Garden:

Maxey drained three-pointers on the Sixers’ first two shots, then missed a wide-open chance to make it 9-0.

Knicks star center Karl-Anthony Towns picked up his second foul with 8:46 left in the first quarter, leading to former Sixer Andre Drummond’s entrance. The Sixers called a play to generate an Embiid isolation look and Drummond swatted his mid-range jumper. 

Embiid soon got Drummond back, pivoting past him in the post and converting an easy layup. He did not have a great start, however, shooting 1 for 5 in the first quarter and getting beaten to a couple of contested rebounds. 

Drummond earned an extended stint and kept on doing his thing as a physical force and all-time great offensive rebounder. Incredibly, he reached a double-double with a put-back layup at the 9:42 mark of the second quarter. 

The Sixers’ defense started quite well.

They were solid on the ball and avoided the sorts of blatant miscues that can be common for reconstructed teams. VJ Edgecombe ended a strong first-quarter possession by sticking tight to OG Anunoby and contesting an air-balled jumper. He was stellar all night long on defense.

The Knicks shot just 37 percent from the floor and 18.2 percent from three-point range in the first quarter. New York still managed to take a 25-23 lead on Brunson’s floater over Edgecombe with 3.3 seconds left. 

As always, it took little time to see James’ exceptional passing. The Sixers failed to capitalize on some of his playmaking, though. James fired a crisp pass in the first quarter to Anfernee Simons along the baseline, but Simons missed his corner three. The Sixers began an ugly 3 for 20 from three-point range.

Jabari Walker was the fourth Sixer to enter off the bench, replacing Adem Bona at center in the second quarter and matching up with Drummond. The Knicks built their lead up to 10 points on a Jordan Clarkson layup.

Embiid subbed out and James slid up to the five-spot for the last 2:39 of the first half. The Sixers’ offense flowed smoothly with James at center. The team also played active defense late in the second quarter, forced a few turnovers and faced a deficit of just four points at halftime.

It’s not Plan A, but James at center does appear to be a valid idea for Sixers head coach Nick Nurse to continue exploring early this season. 

The Sixers continued profiting off of turnovers early in the third quarter.

After a Brown-to-James alley-oop, James nabbed a steal and then rumbled in for a layup. Another fast-break James lay-in lifted the Sixers to a 64-63 lead. 

Simons (13 points) knocked down three timely jumpers in the third quarter, snapping the Sixers’ prolonged cold spell. He’s a pure, high-volume shooter, which should be a valuable asset this year for the Sixers’ second unit. The 27-year-old combo guard sat out the preseason with a hamstring injury, but he showed his worth right away to kick off the regular season.

Brown added two more triples late in the third, including a buzzer-beater to put the Sixers up 83-76 heading into the final period.

Maxey amped up the aggression to begin the fourth quarter and his and-one runner gave the Sixers a nine-point lead. The Knicks pushed back, but two critical three-balls by veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope helped slow New York’s momentum.

A Towns jumper pulled the Knicks within a point. The Sixers eventually landed the next punch as Embiid connected on a long-distance shot of his own. Embiid made another clutch play when the Knicks blitzed Maxey in the pick-and-roll. He caught the ball on the short roll, spotted an open Edgecombe and fed him for a dunk.

The Sixers safely found the finish line from there, securing the first win of their new, star-loaded era.