Jaylen Brown and LeBron Crash the Knicks' Ring Night. Boston, You Watching?
The Knicks raised their first banner in 53 years, then lost 106-100 to a 76ers team built around Tyrese Maxey, LeBron James, Joel Embiid and the former Celtics Finals MVP.
On the same night Paul George scored 38 in his Celtics debut and Boston still lost, the guy Boston traded away to get him was in Madison Square Garden ruining the Knicks' party.
Jaylen Brown, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP that the Celtics sent to Philadelphia for George, according to the AP, had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his first game as a 76er. Philadelphia beat the defending champion Knicks 106-100 on ring night.
The ceremony
Before the game, the Knicks raised their championship banner, their first title in 53 years, NBA.com reported. It's their third banner overall. Jalen Brunson got his ring and thanked the fans. "This is unbelievable. This is really a dream come true," he said. "The joy that this city had this summer, we'd love to replicate that again."
That was the best part of the night for New York.
Philly's new crew
The 76ers' lineup now has Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and Joel Embiid. That's a lot of names. NBA.com said the group "had palpable chemistry in their first game together."
Maxey led everybody with 28 points. He opened the season with back-to-back 3-pointers. LeBron, starting his NBA-record 24th season, had 14 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, a steal and a block. Embiid had 13 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals.
LeBron's first basket as a 76er was a layup against Landry Shamet. Brown's first basket as a 76er came off a LeBron pass. NBA.com even compared the LeBron-to-Brown connection to LeBron and Dwyane Wade, with a "maybe" attached. Let's see it for more than one night.
The game
The Knicks led 58-54 at halftime behind Brunson and former Sixer Andre Drummond, who had 10 points and 12 rebounds in the first half. New York's bench outscored Philly's 25-8 before the break.
The third quarter flipped it. Brown hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cap an 11-0 run, and Philadelphia took an 83-76 lead into the fourth. The Sixers won the third quarter 29-18, according to NBA.com.
New York kept hanging around. Jose Alvarado brought energy off the bench, and Karl-Anthony Towns hit a 28-footer late. But Philly closed it out. Brunson finished with 21 points on 6-for-19 shooting. Towns had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Mikal Bridges scored four, and OG Anunoby had 10 on a rough shooting night.
"I like the way we played. I think we played exceptionally well, especially defensively," LeBron said. NBA.com noted that LeBron is now 25-10 all-time at MSG. NBC's Mike Tirico signed off with: "The Sixers head back down I-95 to South Philly 1-0."
Brunson also gave the crowd credit for sticking with the team, including Game 4 of last season's Finals, when the Knicks came back from 29 down to win on an OG Anunoby tip-in, NBA.com reported. The comeback magic didn't show up Tuesday.
Drummond, for his part, was just happy to be playing for real. "I'm tired of the preseason. I'm ready for the real thing," he said at halftime. Alvarado, the Brooklyn-born point guard, had a sequence in the second quarter where he set up a Drummond bucket, stole the ball from Brown at midcourt and hit a three in transition. Then the second half happened.
Why Boston should care
Here's the deal. The Celtics made the George-for-Brown trade. On night one, George was great and Boston lost anyway. Brown was solid, the Sixers won, and Philly looks like a team that's going to be in Boston's way all year. Meanwhile the Knicks, who Boston plays Friday, got embarrassed at their own party and are going to be in a mood.
Around the league
The night's third game was a rematch of the 2025 Western Conference Finals. Oklahoma City beat San Antonio 116-104 behind 32 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 20 from Jared McCain, who tied his career high with six threes. "One of 82. This doesn't prove anything," Gilgeous-Alexander said. Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, last season's Defensive Player of the Year, had five blocks.
Wembanyama came into the night with 627 career blocks, 13th-most in NBA history for a player after three seasons, according to NBA.com.
Dez's take
One night doesn't decide a trade. But if you're a Celtics fan, you had to watch your old Finals MVP win his debut on national TV a few hours after your new guy put up 38 in a loss. That's a tough Tuesday. Ask me again in April.
What's next
The Knicks go to TD Garden on Friday for the Celtics' home opener.
