October 30, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Philadelphia 76ers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after a score against the New York Knicks during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
PHILADELPHIA – Over the last three years, New York Knicks fans have made Xfinity Mobile Arena their second home. On Friday, behind a team as cohesive as ever, Sixers fans reclaimed their arena.
While there were certainly vocal Knicks fans in attendance for the opening game of NBA Cup Group Play, their chances to make their voices heard were far and few between. Despite the absence of Jaylen Brown (left knee), the Sixers played their most connected game of the season on both ends of the floor by far. All five defenders were constantly on a string, and the offense included crisp, quick ball movement.
Tyrese Maxey was extremely efficient, LeBron James played as aggressively as he has all season, and while Joel Embiid faded after a strong start, Anfernee Simons had his second straight game-changing heater off the bench. VJ Edgecombe once again mastered all of the little things and knocked down yet another enormous triple from the top of the key to help the Sixers put the game away:
https://t.co/7x10A2u8Zj pic.twitter.com/RToGYDs6LJ
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 31, 2026
In need of one final basket, James put back a Maxey miss with a layup. The Sixers had a five-point lead with 11.9 seconds left on the clock, and that was all she wrote:
LeBron James puts the Sixers up by five points. That could do it! pic.twitter.com/GpmfRgZNm7
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) October 31, 2026
The Sixers are 1-0 in NBA Cup Group Play, but they are also 5-1 in the 2026-27 regular season after staving off Knicks runs in each period of the second half. And, twice in the first 11 days of this campaign, they have issued strong statements to the defending champions. It has been a tremendous response to the Sixers' playoff humiliation suffered at New York's hands earlier in 2026.
Takeaways from an extremely impressive 98-93 Sixers win:
The 2025-26 season was a magical one for Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson, whose ascent from second-round pick to household name was punctuated with an NBA Finals MVP trophy as New York snapped its 53-year title drought. Since that campaign started, it is difficult to imagine any player has taken more cracks at guarding Brunson than VJ Edgecombe. They have now squared off in six regular-season games, four playoff contests and three preseason exhibitions.
"It does feel like I’ve played him a lot," Edgecombe said before Friday's game. "Obviously played in the playoffs. I think I was just telling one of the coaches, I was like, 'The Knicks is the team I’ve played the most since I got in the NBA.’ But yeah, obviously he’s a great player. Really smart. Tough shot-maker. And like I said, I just try my best to just contain. If we’re being realistic, you won’t hold anybody to zero points – especially someone of [his] caliber. He’s a great player and I just try my best to just make it difficult."
Part of Brunson's charm is his unique style. He does not have standout size or athleticism; he wins with sneaky strength, crafty finishes, one-of-a-kind footwork and remarkable understanding of angles. The experience of guarding Brunson is far different from defending the league's other top guards.
"Yeah, very fundamental, and that kind of gets lost in today’s game," Edgecombe said. "But like I said, he’s a tough cover. He’s a tough cover. I just try my best to make sure I can make it difficult. But he is different than other guards in the NBA. Like I said, I just try to make sure I focus when guarding him. That’s someone you want to make sure you focus when guarding him, because he can get really hot, really fast. And I’m just trying to, like I said, he’s the head of the snake for them, and I just try to make it difficult."
Brunson heated up as the game went on, but his slow start was essential to the Sixers' strong start. Edgecombe was the most significant contributor to that; his reps against Brunson were definitely better than those of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Maxey. Defending any player as good as Brunson is a team effort, both in terms of having multiple on-ball defenders and critical back-line help. But Edgecombe was the most important piece of the Sixers' successful game against Brunson.
The Sixers have lagged behind expectations offensively to start this season, and their high-profile cast of characters forecasted it. Not because there is only one ball for so many ball-dominant players, but because any acclimation period like this is challenging. The Sixers' primary flaw has been how slow everything has looked in half-court offense; at times it has felt like only Maxey or Joel Embiid was willing to be assertive. With outside noise about an offensive hierarchy the Sixers claim does not need to exist, it is a natural, human response.
Perhaps Brown's absence emboldened James on Friday, because he was far and away his most aggressive as an offensive player. His half-court production had been mediocre at best to start the season; on Friday it was where he did the bulk of his work in what became his best performance as a member of the Sixers by far. He finished with 20 points and eight assists.
James knocked down a pair of early threes. That helps a lot – not just for the six points, but for the respect it forces a defense to play with when James is standing beyond the arc.
— ✥ (@FunKneeBone) October 31, 2026
James has been a strong downhill driver this season when he has gotten to play in the open floor. But transition, even for this team, only comes so often. He needs to be better at getting to the rim when the game slows down, and on Friday he was.
— ✥ (@FunKneeBone) October 31, 2026
Something the Sixers finally teased more on Friday: using James as a post-up player, and seeking out mismatches in the process. Of all of the Sixers' crisp offensive reps, this one might have taken the case: Maxey screens for James, forcing a switch. James immediately puts his back to the basket against the much lighter Mikal Bridges. Embiid finds James, and the NBA's all-time leading scorer finishes through contact for an and-one:
— ✥ (@FunKneeBone) October 31, 2026
Early in the second half, after New York's strongest run of the game to date and an ensuing Sixers timeout, the Sixers needed to stop the bleeding. So James screened for Maxey, forced a switch, got the ball in the post against Bridges, drew a second defender and whipped a gorgeous cross-court pass to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the corner for yet another well-timed triple:
target acquired for KCP 🎯 pic.twitter.com/ybjAM9h8JZ
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 31, 2026
James, whose critical jumper gave the Sixers a lead they would never again relinquish after Brunson tried his best to win his team the game, will turn 42 years old in December. The Sixers will not get this version of him every night. Given how much offensive firepower exists here, they may not need it more than every once in a while. But for the first time in a Sixers jersey, James showed that it is still there. His team needed it badly on Friday.
Two additional notes:
• Justin Edwards is now six games into the season without a single rotation cameo, and the fact that Brown's absence led to a Labaron Philon Jr. appearance against the wing-heavy Knicks is telling. Philon opened the second quarter playing alongside Maxey and Anfernee Simons in a three-guard lineup as small as it gets.
• Coming off his six-triple resurgence in Indianapolis on Wednesday, Simons gave the Sixers another major jolt from beyond the arc on Friday. He checked in with five minutes and 32 seconds left in the third quarter while the Knicks were in the midst of a spirited push. He rattled off 13 points before the end of the frame, including a big-time triple on the Sixers' last possession:
just another day at the office for Ant 🐜😤 pic.twitter.com/tsakRpfMi8
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 31, 2026
Up next: The Sixers will be right back in action on Saturday night, facing the young Hornets in Charlotte.
