Philadelphia 76ers 106, New York Knicks 100

The Philadelphia 76ers opened their season with a 106-100 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, October 20, and the game was decided in one stretch. Down 58-54 at halftime, Philadelphia won the third quarter 29-18 and never gave the lead back.

Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 28 points. Jaylen Brown added 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, and LeBron James came within a point of a triple-double in two categories with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

How it was won

The first half belonged to New York. The Knicks took the first quarter 25-23 and the second 33-31, and at one point built a 10-point lead.

The third quarter turned it. Philadelphia scored 29 and held New York to 18, an 11-point swing that converted a four-point deficit into an 83-76 lead going into the fourth. The Knicks won the final quarter 24-23, but a one-point edge was nowhere near enough to close a seven-point gap. Philadelphia's largest lead was 9.

The box score explains how the Sixers won without winning the glass. New York outrebounded them 53-45 and outscored them 44-40 in the paint. Philadelphia made up the difference elsewhere:

• Shooting: 37-89 (42 percent) against New York's 35-94 (37 percent). Five fewer attempts, two more makes.
• Ball security: 12 turnovers to the Knicks' 15.
• Passing: 28 assists to 21, with Brown and James combining for 13.
• Free throws: both teams went to the line 27 times; Philadelphia made 21, New York 19.

The three-point line was a wash in makes, 11 apiece, though Philadelphia needed 40 attempts to New York's 33. Maxey was 2-9 from deep and still scored 28, which says plenty about how much he got done inside the arc and at the line.

For New York, Jalen Brunson scored 21 on 1-3 from three. Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points and 12 rebounds and shot 3-4 from deep, but finished with a single assist. Josh Hart added 14 points and 7 rebounds.

Against the number

The market had New York as a 4.5-point favorite at the close. Philadelphia won outright, so the cover was never in doubt once the final buzzer sounded, landing 10.5 points clear of the spread.

The moneyline paid as well. Philadelphia closed at +145, with New York at -175.

The total closed at 231.5 and the teams combined for 206, an under by 25.5 points. Combined 22-73 shooting from three and a 29-18 third quarter that saw New York go cold did most of the work there.

The full closing prices are on the game page.

What's next

Philadelphia has kept going since the opener. Wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers (114-106) and Milwaukee Bucks (127-116) followed, before a 106-93 home loss to the Detroit Pistons, leaving the Sixers at 3-1.

Next up is a road game at the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, on ESPN and DAZN IND. The rebounding gap from this game, 53-45, is the number to watch on that trip.

The Knicks' upcoming schedule was not part of the material for this recap, so we will leave their next assignment to our New York coverage. What they take from this one is straightforward: they won the boards and the paint, and lost the game on turnovers, shooting and one bad quarter.