Philadelphia beats the title holder

The win was doubly significant, as Friday’s games marked the start of the fourth edition of the NBA Cup, the in-season tournament which the Knicks won before eventually going on to beat the San Antonio Spurs in the previous league final, claiming their first title since 1973.

The group stage games of the tournament take place throughout November, with the results counting toward the regular season. The quarterfinals are scheduled for December 4 and 5, the semifinals for the 8th and 9th of the same month, and the final on December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points to lead the scorers for the 76ers, who established early control against the Knicks, who struggled with turnovers.

Philadelphia led by 14 points in the third quarter and withstood a late comeback from the Knicks to secure their fifth win of the season against one loss.

Star Jalen Brunson gave New York a 90-89 lead with one minute and 32 seconds remaining after hitting a three-pointer.

But James, the league’s all-time leading scorer, responded with a basket that put Philadelphia back in the lead, before extending the gap to 96-91 with a put-back of a missed shot by Maxey with 11.9 seconds remaining.

James (41 years old) also added nine rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and a spectacular defensive block in a game described by 76ers coach Nick Nurse as his best since joining as a free agent in June.

Nurse said: "I thought he was very good throughout the game. When we played towards the basket, he used his size and imposed himself physically to score some easy baskets... he also led the team and organized the play."

He added: "He was good, but this was undoubtedly his best game."

Brunson led the New York scorers with 24 points, while the Dominican Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and 12 rebounds, but the Knicks fell to a record of two wins and four losses.

In another game, Kyrie Irving (35 points) and Cooper Flagg (33 points) led the Dallas Mavericks to overcome a deficit and hand their guests, the Houston Rockets, their first defeat of the season with a score of 116-111.

The Rockets had ended the balanced first half leading 51-44, and extended the lead to 11 points before entering the final quarter with an eight-point cushion.

Irving’s three-pointer with 7:01 minutes remaining gave Dallas the lead again, and they never trailed again, as the Mavericks found solutions every time Houston tied the game in the final minutes.

Irving said: "It was a great feeling. We went into the locker room at halftime and we weren't happy with our performance. We looked at each other and said we had to perform at a better level."

He added: "We weren't at our level during the first half, but we definitely did what was required in the second."

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry scored 31 points to lead his team to a 112-95 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in a volatile game in San Francisco.

The Lakers outscored the Warriors 38-15 in the first quarter, before the hosts responded with the same 38-15 score in the second quarter, tying the game at 53-53 by the end of the first half.

Slovenian star Luka Doncic scored 37 points for the Lakers. The highlight of the game was him falling to the floor after Curry deceived him with a crossover dribble before hitting a successful three-pointer over him.

Curry raised his career points total to 26,674, surpassing Dominique Wilkins (26,668 points) to rank 18th on the all-time scoring list.

In Miami, the Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo achieved a "triple-double" with 31 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists, leading the Heat to a 145-125 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

In Boston, the Celtics crushed the Chicago Bulls 125-111. Payton Pritchard scored 30 points off the bench, while Jayson Tatum added 26 points for Boston, whose lead reached 32 points.

The Orlando Magic hit 18 three-pointers and managed to withstand the exceptional performance of Scottie Barnes, who set a personal record of 41 points for the Toronto Raptors.

In Brooklyn, Detroit overcame a slow start to hand the Brooklyn Nets their fifth consecutive loss, after Cade Cunningham led the team with 20 points, and Ron Holland added 18 points off the bench in a 110-94 win.