PHILADELPHIA (AP) — LeBron James scored 20 points and hit the go-ahead fadeaway late, and Tyrese Maxey had 27 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 98-93 win over the New York Knicks in an NBA Cup group game on Friday night.

In yet another packed house in Philadelphia with a lively playoff feel, Jalen Brunson hit a 3-pointer for a 90-89 lead with 1:32 that got the first significant rise of the Knicks fans who made the trip.

James then capped his best game of the season with the go-ahead bucket with 1:10 remaining and V.J Edgecombe buried an insurance 3-pointer for the four-point lead. James sealed the win with a tip-in and nearly pulled off a triple-double with nine rebounds and eight assists.

The Sixers are already 2-0 this season against the NBA champion Knicks after beating them in New York on opening night in James’ debut.

Brunson, who appeared to roll an ankle late, scored 24 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 for the Knicks.

New York beat San Antonio last season in the Cup final, and the Knicks went on to beat the Spurs in the title series as well.

The Sixers are off to a 5-1 start even with their regular starting five having started together only three times this season. Jaylen Brown missed a game for the first time this season with left knee soreness, leaving Maxey the lone player to start every game. The Sixers did not say if Brown was expected to miss any more games.

WIZARDS 95, HORNETS 79

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trae Young had 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, AJ Dybantsa scored 17 points in his home debut, and Washington routed Charlotte.

Washington held the Hornets to 13 points in the third quarter, cruising to a comfortable victory on the first night of NBA Cup play. Anthony Davis had 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards.

Dybantsa wasn’t available to start the season because of an ankle injury, but this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick finally played Wednesday night, scoring 19 points in a loss at Cleveland. He looked composed again Friday in front of the home fans. Dybantsa had an impressive putback in the fourth quarter negated by a basket interference call. A short while later, he switched hands while driving before banking in a shot while being fouled.

That drew an “MVP! MVP!” chant for the 19-year-old rookie.

The story of this game, however, was Charlotte’s atrocious shooting. The Hornets led by 10 in the first quarter after starting 4 of 10 from 3-point range. Then they made four of their next 29 attempts from long range.

Charlotte ended up shooting 29.7% from the field for the game, 12 of 56 from 3-point range. The Hornets are now responsible for the two lowest-scoring games in the NBA this season, having produced 81 points in an Oct. 23 loss to Atlanta.

PISTONS 110, NETS 94

NEW YORK (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 20 points, Duncan Robinson added 17 and Detroit routed Brooklyn in an NBA Cup opener.

Ron Holland II finished with 16 points off the bench and Paul Reed chipped in 12 for the Pistons, who have won five of their first six games to begin the season for the first time since 2015-16.

Detroit limited the winless Nets to 40% shooting from the field. No team has shot over 45.5% from the floor against the Pistons this season.

Julius Randle scored 15 and Michael Porter Jr. added 13 for the Nets, who fell to 0-5.

The Pistons got off to a slow start and trailed 28-21 after one quarter. Brooklyn took a 10-point lead – its largest of the season – after a pair of free throws from Randle with 10:44 to play in the second quarter.

But the Pistons began to chip away at the deficit and closed out the first half with an 18-7 spurt to take a 56-49 lead at the break.

Detroit did not let up in the third quarter and outscored the Nets 37-17 thanks to 12 consecutive points from Holland.

The Pistons held the Nets to 33% shooting from the field and forced nine turnovers during the third period.

MAGIC 121, RAPTORS 114

TORONTO (AP) — Desmond Bane scored a season-best 28 points, Franz Wagner set season highs with 26 points and 11 assists, and Orlando overcame Scottie Barnes’ first 40-point game to beat Toronto in NBA Cup play.

Wendell Carter Jr. scored 20 points and Anthony Black added 17 points and 10 assists as the Magic bounced back from Wednesday’s 30-point loss at Toronto.

After shooting 10 for 35 from 3-point range Wednesday, the Magic went 18 of 34 from long distance Friday. Bane made his first four attempts from deep and finished 6 for 12.

The Raptors lost for the second time in three games without star Kawhi Leonard, who is sidelined because of swelling in his left knee.

Barnes fouled out with 41 points. He shot 19 for 34, setting career bests in both made baskets and shot attempts. He went 11 of 24 in the first half alone.

Immanuel Quickley scored 17 points and Collin Murray-Boyles added 15. Jakob Poeltl had 12 points and 11 rebounds for Toronto.

CELTICS 125, BULLS 111

BOSTON (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 30 points, and tBoston raced past Chicago in the NBA Cup opener for both teams.

Jayson Tatum added 26 points in 34 minutes. Paul George finished with 18 points and eight assists for Boston, which has won its last four games.

The Celtics got the lead up to 32 with 1:52 left in the first half. Chicago didn’t cut into the lead until the fourth quarter after Boston’s starters had already been pulled.

Pritchard paced the Celtics’ attack early, scoring 20 points in the first half in another big night against the Bulls after scoring 28 points in 22 minutes in a Boston win over Chicago on Oct. 26. For the night, he knocked down 9 of 17 shots.

Boston also dominated the game inside, scoring 56 points in the paint.

Caleb Wilson had 23 points for the Bulls, who have lost four straight games. Norman Powell finished with 16 points and Matas Buzelis added 14.

HEAT 145, PACERS 125

MIAMI (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points and had his second triple-double of the season, Bam Adebayo added 27 points and tMiami opened NBA Cup play by beating short-handed Indiana.

Antetokounmpo finished with 17 rebounds and 10 assists in 31 minutes as the Heat won their second straight. Adebayo made 11 of 14 shots for Miami, which outscored the Pacers 67-46 in the middle two quarters.

Klay Thompson had his best game since joining Miami, with 25 points and seven 3-pointers. He’s now within 55 of matching former Heat guard Ray Allen (2,973) for third-most 3s in NBA history.

Quenton Jackson scored 24 and Andrew Nembhard had 22 for Indiana, which got 14 from Jarace Walker and 13 apiece from Pascal Siakam and Jay Huff.

Indiana scored 42 points in the first quarter, then had 46 in the next two combined. Pelle Larsson scored 18 and Davion Mitchell had a 15-point, 11-assist game for the Heat.

The Pacers had only 11 available players. Tyrese Haliburton is sidelined for at least a couple weeks and possibly longer with a hamstring strain and the Pacers lost Obi Toppin when his back went out before shootaround Friday morning, acting coach Lloyd Pierce said.

MAVERICKS 116, ROCKETS 111

DALLAS (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 35 points, Cooper Flagg added 33 and Dallas rallied for a victory over Houston, handing the Rockets their first loss of the season in an NBA Cup opener.

Irving scored 26 of his points in the second half, including a jumper that put Dallas ahead for good at 102-100 and set up a tense final two minutes. Houston’s loss left idle Memphis (5-0) as the only remaining unbeaten team in the league.

Kevin Durant scored 28 points, but the career 88% free throw shooter missed a pair with the Rockets trailing by two with 1:53 remaining. Amen Thompson did the same thing with 42 seconds to go after Dallas’ P.J. Washington threw the ball directly to him for a turnover.

After each pair of misses, Flagg converted a clutch bucket on the other end, including a three-point play. Irving was 12 of 19 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and Flagg was 13 of 19.

Daniel Gafford scored 18 points, including two clutch free throws with Dallas leading by one with 11 seconds remaining.

The Mavericks held on down the stretch by fouling on purpose twice with a three-point lead in the final 10 seconds, and Irving hitting the free throws each time on the next possession.

Irving finished 6 of 6 from the line, extending the NBA’s longest active streak of made free throws to 54 going back to before he was sidelined for 19 months by a torn ACL in his left knee.

TIMBERWOLVES 127, CLIPPERS 101

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — LaMelo Ball had a season-high 24 points and Jaden McDaniels scored 23 as Minnesota beat Los Angeles in NBA Cup group play for its first win without star Anthony Edwards.

Bones Hyland added 19 points and eight assists off the bench for the Timberwolves (4-2), who offered a glimpse of how they can still thrive while Edwards recovers from arthroscopic knee surgery.

After a 127-125 overtime loss at Cleveland on Monday, a fresh exam for Edwards indicated the need for the procedure after the wear-and-tear injury limited him to a career-low 61 regular-season games in 2025-26. The Timberwolves were out of sorts for most of a 119-114 loss to Golden State on Wednesday, before regrouping behind their new star Ball and the two-way excellence of McDaniels.

Ball made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Timberwolves used a 20-2 surge to run away with the game. Each of their four victories have come by more than 20 points. McDaniels finished 11 for 15 from the floor, with seven assists and six rebounds.

Backup guard Jaylen Clark relieved McDaniels from some of the defensive duty on Darius Garland and helped force five turnovers by the Clippers star. Clark had five points, two steals and a plus-23 rating in 17 minutes.

Garland scored 24 points on 10-for-22 shooting and Brook Lopez added 13 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Clippers (1-4), who lost their fourth consecutive game. They’ve played so far without newcomers Brandon Ingram and Max Strus due to foot injuries.