76ers Win First NBA Cup Of Season In Dogfight Matchup Over Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers' LeBron James does his chalk toss prior to an NBA Cup basketball game against the New York Knicks, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, in Philadelphia. Chris Szagola - FR170982 AP
For the second time already this season, the Philadelphia 76ers have beaten the defending champion New York Knicks.
The 2026 76ers season is off to a hot start, and for the second time in the first two weeks of the season, Philadelphia had a matchup against the defending champs. Matchup one took place on opening night as the 76ers had to watch the Knicks hang their championship banner and receive their rings, but the 76ers had the last laugh, pulling off the upset win.
Their second meeting this time around was on Philadelphia’s home court, and this time around it mattered even more as the two foes faced off in the first game of the NBA Cup matchups on the season. Like their first game, this one was another hard-fought battle between two of the NBA’s best, and once again the 76ers were able to come out victorious, beating the Knicks 98-93.
Tyrese Maxey led the way scoring with 27 points, while LeBron James had his best scoring game, dropping a season-high 20 points, while just missing a triple-double with nine rebounds and eight assists.
The 76ers were without Jaylen Brown, who was ruled out with a knee injury, but seemed to not miss the forward, as Anfernee Simons was huge off the bench for Philadelphia. Simons drilled five threes, finishing with 21 points, outscoring the entire Knicks bench. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were essentially all the offense the Knicks could muster as they combined for 46 of New York’s 93 points.
The 76ers got rolling early on, with Tyrese Maxey and LeBron James each scoring five points, but the Knicks’ stars, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, knocked down shots as well to keep it nearly even. Six of the next eight points from Philadelphia came from VJ Edgecombe, increasing their lead.
Buckets from Maxey and Embiid, plus a long three from Anfernee Simons, made it a double-digit lead for Philadelphia, but an OG Anunoby mid-range bucket cut it to a 29-21 game heading into the second quarter.
Quarter two kicked off with a layup from Mikal Bridges, but Maxey responded with a tough layup of his own and, on the next possession, one-upped himself with a furious slam dunk.
Maxey kept the hot hand going, scoring another bucket and assisting a jumper from Labaron Philon Jr. James and Josh Hart traded triples, but Brunson got rolling with five straight points to make it a single-digit game once again.
Both teams went back-and-forth throughout the remainder of the 1st half, as James and Maxey knocked down buckets for the 76ers, and Bridges and Miles McBride for the Knicks. When it was all said and done, the 76ers led 53-44 at the half.
Coming out of the break, the 76ers, and more specifically Maxey, got rolling early as the 76ers point guard knocked down back-to-back buckets for a quick five points. However, after a timeout from Mike Brown, the Knicks woke up. Bridges got things rolling with a long three, and Brunson went on a 7-0 run of his own to make it a five-point game.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finally ended that Brunson run with a long three, and Simons managed to get the 76ers back up to 10 with back-to-back triples. Simons kept his hot hand rolling, hitting a tough mid-range jumper, a pair of free throws, and another long three just before the final seconds of the third quarter expired, putting Philadelphia up 77-68 heading into the final 12 minutes of action.
In the fourth quarter, New York began mounting a comeback. Towns had the hot hand for the Knicks as he scored eight straight points, but was nearly matched thanks to five points from Simons. However, buckets from Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson cut the game to one possession with just over six minutes to play.
Embiid and James, who rested the first half of the fourth, checked back in to try to keep the lead. The scoring died down a bit following a bucket from James and Bridges, as both teams were playing lockdown defense.
With under two to play, Brunson came up short on a three-pointer, but after a rebound from McBride, Brunson didn’t miss twice, drilling a corner three for the Knicks’ first lead since the first quarter.
However, that lead was short-lived as James went down and drilled a 12-footer to put Philadelphia back in front. A miss from Brusnon gave the 76ers a chance to extend the lead, and with Jaylen Brown out, it was VJ Edgecombe who came up clutch with a deep three to make it a four-point game.
Following the three, Brunson went 1-for-2 at the line and on the other end, James knocked down a huge layup to keep it a two-possession game. After playing the free-throw game, Anunoby missed a long three, icing the game with the 76ers winning 98-93, for their second win over New York on the season and their first NBA Cup win.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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