The Philadelphia 76ers crashed the New York Knicks’ championship celebration on Tuesday. The new-look Sixers rallied to a 106-100 win at Madison Square Garden after New York raised its title banner and received its rings before the season opener.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 21 points, but the reigning NBA Finals MVP struggled with his shot on a night meant to celebrate New York’s first title since 1973, drawing reactions from the NBA community online.

Jalen Brunson’s Cold Shooting Night Against the 76ers Draws Sharp Reaction

Before tipoff, Brunson told the Garden crowd what he hoped the title defense would bring: “The joy that this city had this summer, we would love to replicate that again.”

Wearing gold sneakers for the occasion, the Finals MVP did not have the best of starts to the new season, going 6-of-19 from the field and 1-of-3 from beyond the arc, finishing minus-11 in 34 minutes of action.

Legion Hoops zeroed in on how the night slipped away from the Knicks star and posted, “Jalen Brunson with a tough night… went 2-for-10 in the second half.”

One fan focused on the occasion: “Jalen Brunson stinker on ring night. This means something to me, man.”

Another ran through Brunson’s shooting numbers before declaring, “The Linsanity run is over.”

Brunson’s place among the league’s elite came up, too, as one fan asked, “Knick fans…where was top 5 in the world, better than Luka, Jalen Brunson today?”

One New York supporter saw a bigger problem in the matchup itself, writing, “These Sixers are a scary matchup for the Knicks. Jalen Brunson had nowhere to go, couldn’t take over the game.”

Analyst Skip Bayless kept his verdict short: “Jalen couldn’t Brunson. Sixers 1-0. Video to come about LeBron’s night.”

New York took a 58-54 lead into halftime, but the game turned in the third quarter. Philadelphia outscored the Knicks 29-18 in the period, closing it on an 11-0 run to go up 83-76.

Making his Sixers debut after leaving the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason, LeBron James was also at the center of that momentum swing, capitalizing on two consecutive turnovers by Karl-Anthony Towns with buckets at the rim.

The former Lakers superstar posted 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists in 34 minutes. Tyrese Maxey carried the scoring load with a game-high 28 points on 9-of-19 shooting. Jaylen Brown finished with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.

For New York, a double-double from Andre Drummond off the bench was one silver lining, because the defending champions did little to consistently compete with the 76ers, shooting 37% from the floor.

Philadelphia hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, while the Knicks visit the Boston Celtics on Friday at TD Garden.