Maxey scores 28 as Sixers beat Knicks 106-100 on banner night

Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points, and Philadelphia closed the third quarter with 11 unanswered points to beat the New York Knicks 106-100 on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. LeBron James and Jaylen Brown won their first regular-season game as Sixers after the defending champions received their rings and raised their 2026 title banner.

Brown finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. James began his NBA-record 24th season with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Joel Embiid added 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Maxey led all scorers and contributed five assists, three steals and three blocks.

New York led 58-54 at halftime and was still ahead 76-72 with three minutes left in the third quarter. Philadelphia then held the Knicks scoreless through the end of the period. Maxey started the run with a driving layup, Anfernee Simons put the Sixers ahead with a three, and Brown followed with two more triples. His second came at the buzzer, turning a four-point deficit into an 83-76 lead.

The lead survived several New York responses. Karl-Anthony Towns brought the Knicks within 96-95 on a three with 4:37 remaining, but Embiid answered from beyond the arc at 3:31. After another Towns three cut the gap to two, VJ Edgecombe dunked off an Embiid assist and Maxey followed with a dunk of his own to make it 104-98 with 1:52 left.

Jalen Brunson's layup cut the margin to four with 41.3 seconds remaining. The Knicks got another possession after Embiid missed, but Brunson's three would not fall. James collected the rebound and made both free throws with 7.7 seconds left to complete the scoring.

Brunson led New York with 21 points but shot 6-for-19. Towns had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Andre Drummond supplied 12 points and 14 rebounds against his former team. The Knicks finished at 37.2 percent from the field. Mikal Bridges scored four points on 2-for-8 shooting, while OG Anunoby went 3-for-12 for 10 points.

Philadelphia had shooting problems of its own, making 37 of 89 attempts and 11 of 40 threes. Its passing and defense helped compensate: the Sixers had 28 assists against 10 turnovers, and their 10 blocks included three apiece from Maxey and Embiid. Simons scored 13 points with three threes, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 10 and made two fourth-quarter triples.

The Sixers host Cleveland on Thursday. New York visits Boston on Friday, looking for its first win after an opening night that began with a championship celebration.