76ers edge Knicks 98-93 as LeBron James delivers his best night in Philadelphia

LeBron James came up with the plays that decided Friday's game, and the 76ers opened NBA Cup group play with a 98-93 win over the defending champion New York Knicks at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Philadelphia is now 5-1 and has beaten New York twice in the first two weeks of the season.

James finished with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, nine rebounds and eight assists. SB Nation's Liberty Ballers called it probably his best game as a Sixer, and Nick Nurse said much the same afterward, according to AFP. The Sixers had led by 14 in the third quarter, but a Jalen Brunson three put New York ahead 90-89 with 1:30 to play. James answered by backing down OG Anunoby and hitting a fadeaway jumper, and VJ Edgecombe added a three. With 11.9 seconds left, James tipped in a Tyrese Maxey miss to make it a five-point game. ESPN noted that all five Philadelphia wins have come in clutch time. ESPN also reported that at 41, James tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the fifth-oldest player in NBA history to score 20 points in a game.

Maxey led everyone with 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Anfernee Simons scored 21 off the bench and made five threes, one game after he hit six in Indiana. The defense did most of the work early. New York scored 21 points in the first quarter and 44 in the first half, and it shot 32% from three before the break. Philadelphia played again without Jaylen Brown, who is out with left patellar tendinopathy.

The late collapse is still a concern. The Sixers had an 11-point fourth-quarter lead and nearly lost it, and The Philadelphia Inquirer described an offense that stalled down the stretch before James and Edgecombe stepped in.

What it means for Charlotte

The 76ers turn around and play Saturday in Charlotte, on NBA TV. It is the second night of a back-to-back, and that matters more than the result against New York. The Inquirer reported that James and Joel Embiid both played Friday and will likely both sit against the Hornets. In the first back-to-back, the two split the games. Embiid played against Milwaukee and James against Detroit, and Philadelphia won the first night 127-116 before losing the second 106-93. That 13-point loss to the Pistons is the only blemish so far. If Brown is also out, Maxey, Edgecombe and Simons would have to carry the scoring load.

The board still makes Philadelphia a slight road favorite. On this site's odds page, 11 venues are listing the game. Novig has the Sixers at -111 on the moneyline and Charlotte at +106. On the spread, Novig lists Philadelphia -1.5 at -111. The best Sixers number anywhere is BetRivers at -0.5 for -120, which is a point closer to a pick'em. Novig sets the total at 215.5, with the over at -120. The highest under is theScore Bet at 217.5 for -115, two points above Novig's line. Sportsbook hold ranges from 4.2% to 5.3% across the markets. The venues disagree by a point on the spread and two points on the total, and that spread suggests the market is still waiting to learn who will play for Philadelphia.