We Speak NBA
Maxey Scores 28 as 76ers Spoil Knicks’ Ring Night With 106-100 Win at Madison Square Garden
LeBron James and Jaylen Brown won their Philadelphia debuts as the 76ers beat the defending champions on their banner night.
The New York Knicks raised their first championship banner since 1973 on Tuesday night. The Philadelphia 76ers left Madison Square Garden with the win.
Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 28 points as Philadelphia beat the defending champions 106-100 in the season opener for both teams. New York led 58-54 at halftime, but the 76ers outscored the Knicks 29-18 in the third quarter and closed the period on an 11-0 run to take the lead for good.
LeBron James, beginning his 24th NBA season and his first with Philadelphia, finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, including two clinching free throws with seven seconds left. Jaylen Brown added 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his 76ers debut, and Joel Embiid had 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
“It’s about winning, just trying to make plays to win,” James said. Brown called the win a statement on the champs’ big night: “It’s good, what we wanted to do, be a little spoiler. The Knicks’ accomplishment is great, but it’s a new season, new year.”
Jalen Brunson led New York with 21 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Andre Drummond had 12 points and 14 rebounds off the bench.
Before tipoff, the Knicks received their championship rings and raised the banner celebrating last season’s title, the franchise’s first in 53 years.
The NBA fined Boston Celtics star Paul George $2,000 for flopping during the Celtics’ 121-113 season-opening loss to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, the league announced Wednesday.
“BOS’s Paul George was assessed a postgame Flopping fine of $2,000 upon league office review,” the NBA said in its announcement. The play under review came with about three minutes remaining in regulation, when George bumped Pistons guard Duncan Robinson in transition and went down hard despite light contact.
The penalty adds an unusual footnote to an otherwise historic debut. George scored 38 points in his first regular-season game with Boston, setting a franchise record for points scored in a Celtics debut. He shot 12-of-21 from the field and 7-of-12 from three-point range, adding five rebounds, three assists and five steals. He became just the sixth player in NBA history to record at least 38 points, five rebounds, five steals and seven made three-pointers in a single game.
George’s big night was spoiled by Boston’s collapse. The Celtics led Detroit by as many as 22 points before the Pistons stormed back with a 28-3 fourth-quarter surge to win 121-113. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren scored 22 points apiece for Detroit, while Duncan Robinson scored 21, including 15 in the fourth quarter.
George joined the Celtics this offseason in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. Under the NBA’s flopping rules, the league office can assess penalties after reviewing game footage even when officials do not call a violation during the game, with fines escalating for repeat offenders. The $2,000 fine does not include a suspension and does not affect George’s availability for Boston’s next game.
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