The new 76ers take the Garden and leave with the win

Philadelphia walked into the building of the team that swept it in last spring's second round and treated opening night like a reply. The 76ers beat the Knicks 106-100 at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, attendance 19,812. LeBron James, starting a record 24th season, and Jaylen Brown, in his first game since the deal that brought him from Boston, were the names on the marquee. Tyrese Maxey was the one who decided it.

Maxey scored 28, with five assists and three steals, in nearly 40 minutes. Brown had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists and closed the third quarter with his second straight three, a shot at the buzzer that capped an 11-0 run and put Philadelphia up 83-76. James finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. He also picked up a defensive-three-seconds technical with 11.9 seconds left in the half. Joel Embiid shot 4 of 15 and still had 13 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. The bench did the rest of the damage. Anfernee Simons hit three threes. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit two. When New York loaded up on the new front line, the reserves were open.

The Knicks led by 10 and shot 37 percent. Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 and 12 rebounds but played only 23 minutes and had four turnovers. Jalen Brunson scored 21 on 6 of 19. OG Anunoby was 3 of 12, 1 of 9 from three, and finished minus-20. New York's second-chance points were the honest complaint: 28 of them, on 12 of 15 shots. It was not enough to hold a lead. Towns's three cut a Philadelphia advantage to 96-95 in the fourth. Embiid answered with one, and the Sixers did not trail again. Maxey's three-point play early in the quarter had already made it 87-78.

New York won 16 of 19 down the stretch last spring and posted the highest point differential in postseason history. Tuesday was one game, in October, against a roster that did not exist in May. It still counted in the building where that run happened.