Jaylen Brown’s first big half of 22 points led the Philadelphia 76ers to beat the NBA champion New York Knicks in the preseason opener on Monday night.
Jaylen Brown firing 22 points against a full strength Knicks lineup led the Sixers to a convincing 120-97 win with Joel Embiid, LeBron James, and Tyrese Maxey watching from the bench.
Sixers, who finished with a 45-37 last season, made it to the playoffs, and won their first-round series, but then lost every game by the Knicks in the second round.
The 41-year-old NBA All-time leading scorer LeBron, who inked a free-agent deal with the Sixers over the summer after a much hype-media campaign, rested in the season opener reportedly due to chronic arthritis in his left foot and a sciatica pain.
James is a 22-time All-Star, a 21-time All-NBA selection, a four-time Most Valuable Player, a four-time NBA Finals MVP, a three-time All-Star Game MVP and a member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.
James was one of the seven Philadelphia players who were ruled out for the preseason opener, alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Anfernee Simons, Dominick Barlow, Adem Bona, and Tacko Fall.
But Brown filled the vacuum that was created with the exclusion of James and Embiid and scored 22 first-half points in 17 minutes, attempting 8 of 13, offering clues about what lies ahead in the NBA season if the load management plan is to be in place.
2026-10-06 11:47:00
