What We Learned Last Night: 76ers Own Crunch Time Again in 98-93 NBA Cup Win Over Knicks

The Philadelphia 76ers keep finding a way late, and the New York Knicks keep running out of answers. Philadelphia closed out a 98-93 win over New York on Friday night in NBA Cup group play, moving to 5-1 while dropping the Knicks to 2-4 in a rematch of the season opener.

James Owns the Final Two Minutes

LeBron James scored 20 points with nine rebounds and eight assists in his best game of the young season, and he owned the final two minutes. After Jalen Brunson buried a three pointer to give New York a 90-89 lead with 1:32 left, James answered with a fadeaway with 1:10 to go, then sealed it with a putback with 11.9 seconds left. Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 27 points, Anfernee Simons added 21 while filling in for the sidelined Jaylen Brown (knee), and VJ Edgecombe hit a clutch three pointer and finished with 13.

The Knicks’ Same Old Problem

New York trailed by as many as 14 points and went into halftime down 53-44, continuing an early season pattern of slow starts. Brunson finished with 24 points on 8 of 22 shooting, and Karl-Anthony Towns posted 22 points and 12 rebounds, but the Knicks could not get a clean look when it mattered most. This was Philadelphia’s second win over New York already this season, and the Knicks have now lost four of their first six games.

Around the Cup on Friday

Friday was the NBA Cup opener for every team in action. The Warriors beat the Lakers 112-95, the Celtics beat the Bulls 125-111, the Pistons beat the Nets 110-94, and the Wizards beat the Hornets 95-79. On the college side, Baylor rolled past UCF 41-9 on Friday night behind 319 passing yards and four touchdowns from DJ Lagway, a result that should cool any remaining market enthusiasm for the Knights after their upset of BYU six days earlier.

What It Means for Bettors

Trust what you see in crunch time, not just the standings. Philadelphia is now 5-1 with a habit of winning close games, which makes the Sixers a team to back, not fade, when a game tightens late. The Knicks’ slow starts are becoming a betting pattern of their own. Live bettors who wait out the first quarter slump have found better numbers on New York all week. Philadelphia heads to Charlotte on Saturday, while New York hosts Brooklyn on Monday, so check the fresh lines at BetUS, MyBookie, and SportsBetting.ag before backing either side in their next spot.

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