NEW YORK -- The Philadelphia 76ers opened the 2026-27 season with an impressive 106-100 win over the defending champion New York Knicks on the road to spoil their ring night. The Sixers were able to get the job done by locking in defensively in the second half and finding ways to seal possessions with big rebounds.
LeBron James, in his Sixers debut, had 14 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists while Jaylen Brown had 19 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in his debut.
Tyrese Maxey had 28 points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals, and three blocks while Joel Embiid had 13 points, six assists, and 11 rebounds. VJ Edgecombe added nine points, and Anfernee Simons added 13 points, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 10 points while also making their Sixers debuts.
Here are the three biggest takeaways following the win:
Maxey's defensive prowess
When one thinks of Tyrese Maxey, they think of offense. They think of his ability to knock down tough shots, get to the basket, make plays for others, take games over in the blink of an eye. Not many think of Maxey's defensive work. He impressed in this one as he really sat down and defended on the perimeter to make life tough on New York's guards. He was able to come up with some big time steals and then come up with some impressive blocks. If that keeps up, then that changes things for Philadelphia's chances as it moves forward.
"He's a really high IQ player," VJ Edgecombe said of Maxey. "He's obviously, you know, he got that God-given talent where he's so fast, he's athletic, so he's able to catch some blocks, and obviously he's smart. He can read the passing lanes, read it, read the offensive play. He's really good at being in the passing lane. Like I said, it looks like he's running 100 miles per hour because of how fast he is. I think I'll say him just being--and he actually sits down and guards."
Caldwell-Pope and Simons come up large
The Sixers missed a lot of good open looks against the Knicks. They started the night just 3-for-20 from deep before Simons hopped off the bench and pumped in three triples. Those 3s allowed Philadelphia to really build some separation with the defending champs before then Caldwell-Pope knocked down two huge triples in the fourth to really put New York away. It was important for the Sixers to get that type of shooting ability from those guys in order to pull out a much-needed win to start the season.
"It was incredibly huge tonight, because I thought we were generating lots of wide-open 3s and just nobody could throw one in," said coach Nick Nurse. "And those guys kind of broke through on that and moved the scoreboard for us. It’s one of those things, if you’re, again, making the right reads and it’s a kick-out catch-and-shoot three, you’re gonna have to keep taking them all night whether you’re making them or not, and it was good those guys kind of broke the seal a little bit, I thought."
Brown gets going in the second half
It was a quiet start for Brown in his Sixers debut as he started out missing some easy looks, but as the game wore on, Brown broke out and really gave Philadelphia the offensive punch it needed to keep up with the champs. He was punching the gaps, getting to the basket, making the Knicks adjust to him, and that opened up different opportunities for the Sixers offensively. The two 3s he made in the third--after Simons was able to beak the seal--were huge, including one to beat the buzzer.
"Probably a couple things," Nurse said of Brown's night. "Probably our defensive rebounding, if that makes any sense. Gave him a chance to play not necessarily in break, but in transition [in] people moving up the floor. And he’s kind of been able to hit some gaps as everything’s kind of moving, and he just had a nice run of the ball finding him. Him making tough moves to the basket. Ran a couple plays for him. A little bit combination of those things."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers after season-opening win over Knicks