NEW YORK: LeBron James and his new Philadelphia 76ers teammates crashed the New York Knicks’ season-opening celebrations on Tuesday, beating the defending NBA champions 106-100 on the night they raised their title banner at Madison Square Garden.
James, 41, is entering a record-extending 24th NBA season with his fourth team. He scored 14 points and recorded seven of the 76ers’ 28 assists, offering a tantalising glimpse of how he could facilitate play for younger teammates such as Tyrese Maxey, who led all scorers with 28 points.
“I could be a lot better,” James told broadcaster 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.”
Jaylen Brown, the former Boston Celtics star who arrived in Philadelphia in a stunning trade for Paul George in July, scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds and recorded six assists, while centre Joel Embiid added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 21 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. However, after regaining the lead in the third quarter, the 76ers repelled every Knicks charge.
The Knicks ended a 53-year title drought by beating the San Antonio Spurs in last season’s NBA Finals.
Knicks legends, including Bill Bradley, Earl Monroe and Walt Frazier, handed out the team’s championship rings during an emotional pre-game ceremony at the Garden. The crowd included diehard celebrity Knicks fans such as Ben Stiller and Spike Lee, alongside other famous faces, including rocker Jon Bon Jovi and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Before the club’s third championship banner was raised to the rafters, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Brunson told fans the Knicks were “ready to turn the page as a team”.
“But one thing I would like to say — the joy that this city had this summer, we’d love to replicate that again,” Brunson said of a Knicks team aiming to become the first back-to-back champions since 2018.
James, a four-time NBA champion and the league’s all-time leading scorer, admitted that winning on another team’s championship night was especially satisfying.
“It’s pretty special,” he said.
In the nightcap of the opening-day triple-header, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder rode a strong start to a 116-104 victory over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
Wembanyama, widely tipped to end Gilgeous-Alexander’s two-year reign as Most Valuable Player, made just one basket from 13 attempts, an alley-oop dunk to end the third quarter.
He made his presence felt with 13 rebounds and six blocked shots, scoring 12 points largely thanks to 10 free throws.
However, the Spurs, led by Stephon Castle’s 24 points, ultimately had no answer for an OKC side that was “hungry” after its title defence ended in a seven-game loss to San Antonio in last season’s Western Conference finals.
Tempers flare
“Obviously this is the team that eliminated us from achieving our goal,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “But for us, I think it was more like we’re just happy to be back. It’s a longer summer when you don’t win, and we felt that this summer.”
There was plenty of tension between the young teams tipped to battle for supremacy in the Western Conference for years to come.
Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox was called for a flagrant foul after throwing Thunder centre Chet Holmgren to the court early in the second quarter, sparking a shoving match that resulted in multiple technical fouls.
The Spurs made a disciplined start to the third quarter and twice cut the deficit to seven points in the second half, only for the Thunder to pull away again.
The NBA’s 81st season tipped off in Detroit, where the Pistons staged a fierce second-half fightback to spoil George’s 38-point debut for the Celtics in a clash between last season’s top two regular-season teams.
Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren scored 22 points each, while Duncan Robinson scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter as the Pistons rallied for a 121-113 victory, aided by a 23-0 scoring run.