LeBron James scored 20 points, including a late tip-in, to help seal the Philadelphia 76ers’ 98-93 victory over the NBA champions New York Knicks on Friday.
asserted
James → score → Friday
The 76ers notched their second win of the young season over the Knicks after spoiling their championship banner-raising with a victory at Madison Square Garden on opening night.
asserted
76ers → notch → night
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items- list 1 of 4MLB World Series: How does baseball compare with other US sports?
- list 2 of 4Man United travel to Chelsea with Carrick’s job on the line – all to know
- list 3 of 4Barcelona’s Flick praises Yamal’s ‘mentality’ after missing out on Ballon d’Or
- list 4 of 4Arsenal boss Arteta fires ‘Disneyland’ warning at Dowman after red card
The win had a double edge as Friday’s games marked the start of the fourth edition of the NBA Cup, the NBA in-season tournament won by the Knicks before they went on to beat the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals for their first championship since 1973.
asserted
they → compare → 1973
Group-stage Cup games will be played throughout November, all counting in the regular-season standings.
asserted
all → play → standings
Quarterfinals will be played December 4-5 and semifinals December 8-9 before the final on December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
asserted
Quarterfinals → play → Indianapolis
Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points to lead the Sixers, who took control early against the sloppy Knicks.
asserted
who → score → Knicks
They led by 14 in the third quarter and weathered a late Knicks surge.
asserted
They → lead → surge
Jalen Brunson’s step-back three-pointer put New York up 90-89 with 1:32 remaining.
asserted
pointer → put → 1:32
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, answered with a basket that put Philadelphia back in front and pushed the lead to 96-91 with a tip-in off a Maxey miss with 11.9 seconds left.
LeBron’s ‘best game’
James, 41, added nine rebounds, eight assists, one steal and a vintage chase-down block in what 76ers coach Nick Nurse called his best game since joining as a free agent in July.
asserted
Nurse → lead → July
“I thought he was really good all the way through,” Nurse said.
asserted
Nurse → think → ?
“When we got some downhill stuff, he used his size and knocked them around a little bit for some layups … kind of pushed and organised it.
asserted
he → get → it
Brunson led New York with 24 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who fell to 2-4.
asserted
who → lead → 2
The Dallas Mavericks, fuelled by 35 points from Kyrie Irving and 33 from Cooper Flagg, rallied to hand the Houston Rockets their first defeat of the season, 116-111.
asserted
Mavericks → fuel → season
The Rockets had emerged from a back-and-forth first half with a 51-44 lead, pushing the advantage to as many as 11 before taking an eight-point lead into the final frame.
asserted
Rockets → emerge → frame
Irving’s three-pointer with 7:01 remaining put Dallas back in front, and they wouldn’t trail again, the Mavs finding an answer when Houston twice pulled level in the final stretch.
asserted
Houston → remain → stretch
“It felt good,” Irving said.
asserted
Irving → feel → ?
“We came in at halftime, we weren’t proud of our effort.
asserted
we → come → effort
We looked each other in the eye, and we were just like, we’ve got to do better.
asserted
we → look → eye
“We didn’t bring it in the first half, but the second half we definitely brought it.”
asserted
we → bring → it
Curry climbs scoring list
asserted
Curry → climb → list
Golden State star Stephen Curry scored 31 points to lead the Warriors to a 112-95 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in a rollercoaster contest in San Francisco.
asserted
Curry → score → Francisco
The Lakers outscored the Warriors 38-15 in the first quarter, the Warriors erasing the 23-point deficit by outscoring Los Angeles 38-15 in the second to knot it 53-53 at halftime.
asserted
Warriors → outscore → halftime
Luka Doncic scored 37 points for the Lakers.
asserted
Doncic → score → Lakers
The night’s abiding image was of him crashing to the floor as he was wrong-footed by Curry – who fired over him for a three-pointer.
asserted
who → abide → pointer
Curry took his career points tally to 26,674, surpassing Dominique Wilkins (26,668) for 18th on the all-time scoring list.
asserted
Curry → take → list
In Miami, Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered a triple-double of 31 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists to propel the Heat to a 145-125 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
asserted
Antetokounmpo → deliver → Pacers
In Boston, the Celtics romped to a 125-111 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
asserted
Celtics → romp → Bulls
Payton Pritchard scored 30 points off the bench, and Jayson Tatum scored 26 for the Celtics, who led by as many as 32 points.
asserted
who → score → points
Orlando’s Desmond Bane scored 28 points, Franz Wagner added 26 and Wendell Carter chipped in 20 as the Magic fended off a late challenge to beat the Raptors 121-114 in Toronto.
asserted
Magic → score → Toronto
The Magic drained 18 three-pointers and withstood a career-high 41-point performance from Toronto’s Scottie Barnes.
asserted
Magic → drain → Barnes
Detroit shook off a slow start to hand the winless Nets a fifth straight defeat in Brooklyn, where Cade Cunningham scored 20 points, and Ron Holland added 18 off the bench in a 110-94 Pistons victory.
asserted
Holland → shake → victory
The Aporia
