LeBron’s Late Answer Lifts 76ers Past Knicks 98–93 in NBA Cup — What Decided It

October 31, 2026 — The Philadelphia 76ers beat the New York Knicks 98–93 on Friday, October 30, in an Emirates NBA Cup East Group B game. The NBA’s official final scoreboard confirms the result, and Reuters’ game account independently reports the decisive late possessions.

How Philadelphia answered New York’s comeback

Philadelphia entered the fourth quarter ahead 77–68, but the Knicks rallied. Jalen Brunson’s three-pointer put New York up 90–89 with 1:32 remaining. LeBron James responded with a fadeaway jumper that restored Philadelphia’s lead. Rookie VJ Edgecombe then made a crucial three-pointer, and James added a late putback to protect the result.

James finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 27 points, while Anfernee Simons added 21. Brunson scored 24 for New York and Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 22. Those figures are from the league game report and Reuters, not estimates from highlights.

What the narrow win says — and does not say

The game is a useful early test of Philadelphia’s late-possession execution. Its nine-point lead entering the final period disappeared, but the Sixers still produced the key shots when New York briefly moved in front. James’ finishing and Edgecombe’s perimeter shot mattered more than the overall five-point margin suggests.

The Sixers improved to 5–1 despite Jaylen Brown being sidelined with knee soreness, according to the game reports. Philadelphia has now beaten the defending champion Knicks twice early this season, including its opening-night meeting. That is encouraging for the Sixers, but two October wins cannot settle how the teams will compare over a full season or in a postseason series.

New York, meanwhile, won the final quarter 25–21. The Knicks’ comeback shows they could generate offense late; their inability to sustain the lead is the more immediate concern. The result is final, not a live score or a projection.

Official game and video fallback: The NBA’s October 30 game page provides the verified score and game context. No newly uploaded, exact-game YouTube highlight with confirmed upload date and embedding permission was verified for this article, so no third-party video has been embedded or rehosted.

Photo note: Featured image is an illustrative basketball-court photograph by Markus Spiske / Unsplash under the Unsplash License; it does not depict this game.

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