LOS ANGELES, California — LeBron James scored 20 points including a late tip-in to help seal the Philadelphia 76ers’ 98-93 victory over the NBA champion New York Knicks on Friday (Saturday in Manila).
The 76ers notched their second win of the young season over the Knicks after spoiling their championship banner-raising with a victory at Madison Square Garden on opening night.
The win had a double edge as Friday’s games marked the start of the fourth edition of the NBA Cup, the NBA in-season tournament won by the Knicks before they went on to beat the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals for their first championship since 1973.
Group-stage Cup games will be played throughout November, all counting in the regular-season standings. Quarterfinals will be played Dec. 4–5 and semifinals Dec. 8–9 before the final on Dec.
11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points to lead the Sixers, who took control early against the sloppy Knicks.
They led by 14 in the third quarter and weathered a late Knicks surge.
Jalen Brunson’s step-back three-pointer put New York up, 90-89, with 1:32 remaining.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, answered with a basket that put Philadelphia back in front and pushed the lead to 96-91 with a tip-in off a Maxey miss with 11.9 seconds left.
James, 41, added nine rebounds, eight assists, one steal and a vintage chase-down block in what 76ers coach Nick Nurse called his best game since joining as a free agent in June.
Brunson led New York with 24 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who fell to 2-4.
The Dallas Mavericks, fueled by 35 points from Kyrie Irving and 33 from Cooper Flagg, rallied to hand the Houston Rockets their first defeat of the season, 116-111.
The Rockets had emerged from a back-and-forth first half with a 51-44 lead, pushing the advantage to as many as 11 before taking an eight-point lead into the final frame.
Irving’s three-pointer with 7:01 remaining put Dallas back in front, and they wouldn’t trail again, the Mavs finding an answer when Houston twice pulled level in the final stretch.
Golden State star Stephen Curry scored 31 points to lead the Warriors to a 112-95 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in a roller-coaster contest in San Francisco.
The Lakers out-scored the Warriors, 38-15, in the first quarter, the Warriors erasing the 23-point deficit by outscoring Los Angeles, 38-15, in the second to knot it 53- 53 at halftime. Luka Doncic scored 37 points for the Lakers.
