{"id":22809,"date":"2026-10-21T11:34:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T11:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/?p=22809"},"modified":"2026-10-21T11:34:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T11:34:23","slug":"nba-opening-night-sixers-thunder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nba-opening-night-sixers-thunder","title":{"rendered":"NBA Opening Night: Sixers Spoil Ring Night, Thunder Answer the West"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Opening Night of the 2026-27 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/league\/nba-103\">NBA<\/a> season did not ease anyone in. It handed the league two statements before the calendar even settled: Philadelphia walked into Madison Square Garden on banner-and-rings night and left with a 106-100 win, then Oklahoma City reopened its Western Conference Finals argument in San Antonio with a 116-104 road victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One evening. Two conferences. The same message from both winners: the new season already has teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table of Contents<\/h2><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#76-ers-at-knicks-banner-night-becomes-a-warning\">76ers at Knicks &#8211; Banner night becomes a warning<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#how-the-night-flipped\">How the night flipped<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#the-lines-that-decided-it\">The lines that decided it<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#the-secondary-punch\">The secondary punch<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#what-it-signals\">What it signals<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#thunder-at-spurs-the-west-finals-rematch-opens-loud\">Thunder at Spurs &#8211; The West Finals rematch opens loud<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#how-the-night-flipped-1\">How the night flipped<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#the-lines-that-decided-it-2\">The lines that decided it<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#the-secondary-punch-3\">The secondary punch<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#what-it-signals-4\">What it signals<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#the-night-in-one-frame\">The night, in one frame<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#faq\">FAQ<\/a><ul><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"76-ers-at-knicks-banner-night-becomes-a-warning\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/match\/nba-103\/new-york-knicks-philadelphia-76ers-1306-1313-103#id=4808908\">76ers at Knicks<\/a> &#8211; Banner night becomes a warning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Madison Square Garden spent the pregame as a museum of last spring. The banner went up. The rings went out. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/jalen-brunson-64139\">Jalen Brunson<\/a> told the building he wanted the same joy again. Then the remade <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/team\/philadelphia-76ers-1306\">Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> spoiled the ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-the-night-flipped\">How the night flipped<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The first half belonged to the party more than the aesthetics. Fouls stretched possessions. Shots clanged. The Knicks still built a ten-point burst and carried a 58-54 lead into the break after quarters of 25-23 and 33-31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The third quarter erased the mood. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/team\/new-york-knicks-1313\">New York<\/a> managed 18 points. Philadelphia scored 29. The Sixers closed the period with an 11-0 run, capped by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/jaylen-brown-53322\">Jaylen Brown\u2019s<\/a> second straight three at the buzzer for an 83-76 lead. Early in the fourth, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/tyrese-maxey-86410\">Tyrese Maxey\u2019s<\/a> three-point play pushed it to 87-78. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/karl-anthony-towns-53710\">Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> later cut it to 96-95 with a three. Joel Embiid answered with one of his own. The Garden never got the clean comeback it had practiced all spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Final by quarter: Knicks 25-33-18-24, Sixers 23-31-29-23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-lines-that-decided-it\">The lines that decided it<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Maxey was the engine, not the ornament. He finished with 28 points, four rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks in nearly 40 minutes, shooting 9-of-19 from the field and 8-of-9 at the line. When the Knicks loaded up on the new stars, Maxey kept attacking the gaps they left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brown\u2019s Sixers debut looked like the trade thesis in one box score: 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists in 35 minutes, plus-17. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/lebron-james-53358\">LeBron James<\/a> opened an NBA-record 24th season with 14 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in 34 minutes. Embiid added 13 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. The star quartet did not need a perfect shooting night. It needed shared creation, and for one evening that was enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brunson scored 21, but the Finals MVP went 6-of-19 from the field. Towns posted 19 and 12. Josh Hart chipped in 14 and seven. The supporting wings did not travel with them: Mikal Bridges finished with four points on 2-of-8, and OG Anunoby managed ten on 3-of-12, including 1-of-9 from three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2274883333-2-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22811\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2274883333-2-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2274883333-2-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2274883333-2-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2274883333-2-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2274883333-2-scaled.jpg 1639w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Photo by Dustin Satloff\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-secondary-punch\">The secondary punch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The loudest names drew the help. The next names punished it. Anfernee Simons scored 13 off the bench with three threes. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added ten with two more. When New York\u2019s defense contracted around James, Brown, Maxey, and Embiid, the open corners did not stay empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-it-signals\">What it signals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>New York is 0-1 as champion. Title defense begins with every opponent treating your building like a measuring stick. Brunson\u2019s cold shooting and the wing droughts are one-game noise until they become a week-long pattern. Boston on the road is not a soft landing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Philadelphia is 1-0 as a remade contender. Night one did not prove chemistry is solved. It proved the pieces can close a hostile building when Maxey runs the show and the new wings fill the seams. Cleveland at home is the next rehearsal, not the graduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"thunder-at-spurs-the-west-finals-rematch-opens-loud\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/match\/nba-103\/oklahoma-city-thunder-san-antonio-spurs-1316-1330-103#id=4808909\">Thunder at Spurs<\/a> &#8211; The West Finals rematch opens loud<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Five months after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/team\/san-antonio-spurs-1316\">San Antonio<\/a> ended <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/team\/oklahoma-city-thunder-1330\">Oklahoma City\u2019s<\/a> season in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the same two teams tipped in Texas. The Thunder did not waste the reunion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-the-night-flipped-1\">How the night flipped<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Oklahoma City led for nearly the entire evening after the opening stretch. The first quarter ended 34-28 Thunder. The second quarter decided the mood: Oklahoma City scored 31, San Antonio managed 16, and the visitors carried a 65-44 lead into halftime. The advantage swelled as high as 26 before the Spurs remembered how to punch back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>San Antonio\u2019s third quarter was the counterpunch, a 36-28 period that dragged the deficit back into single digits. That is usually when a rematch becomes a referendum. Instead, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/shai-gilgeous-alexander-64164\">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> and the Thunder bench steadied the night. The fourth stayed level enough (24-23 Spurs) without ever restoring home control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Final by quarter: Spurs 28-16-36-24, Thunder 34-31-28-23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-lines-that-decided-it-2\">The lines that decided it<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 32 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and three blocks on 13-of-27 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three. When San Antonio\u2019s run got loud after halftime, SGA was still the possession that would not go away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/chet-holmgren-104852\">Chet Holmgren\u2019s<\/a> night was quieter on the scoresheet and louder on the problem it created for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/victor-wembanyama-85798\">Victor Wembanyama<\/a>. Holmgren posted 14 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks. Oklahoma City\u2019s length turned Wembanyama\u2019s opening night into a grind: 12 points on 1-of-13 from the field, 0-of-4 from three, 10-of-12 at the line, with 13 rebounds and six blocks still attached to the frustration. One make. Full defensive volume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/jalen-williams-113172\">Jalen Williams<\/a> added 12 and seven. Alex Caruso gave the visitors nine points and six rebounds in 25 efficient minutes. The star line was SGA. The structural line was Oklahoma City\u2019s size at the rim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2279452243-2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22812\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2279452243-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2279452243-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2279452243-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2279452243-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2279452243-2-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Photo by Christian Petersen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-secondary-punch-3\">The secondary punch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/jared-mccain-146951\">Jared McCain<\/a> turned the middle of the game into a shooting clinic: 20 points in 22 minutes off the bench on 7-of-9 from the field and 6-of-8 from three, plus-20. Rookie Aday Mara\u2019s cameo mattered in the margins, seven points on 3-of-4 shooting in under 12 minutes and enough rim presence to make San Antonio\u2019s alley-oop looks feel contested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Spurs still had real production. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/stephon-castle-147032\">Stephon Castle<\/a> led them with 24 points and five threes. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/dylan-harper-189029\">Dylan Harper<\/a> added 18, seven, and five. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/de'aaron-fox-53664\">De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/a> was efficient at 14 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists on 6-of-9 shooting. The talent did not vanish. The second-quarter black hole did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-it-signals-4\">What it signals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For the Thunder, the West Finals hangover does not have to define October. SGA still runs the show. The defense still travels. A bench piece like McCain can change the geometry of a rematch in one quarter. Denver at home is the next measuring stick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the Spurs, Opening Night exposed the gap between spring identity and early-season sharpness. Wembanyama\u2019s impact without makes is still enormous. Winning nights against this Thunder team requires more than 16 points in a quarter and more than one field goal from the franchise centerpiece. Houston in Austin arrives quickly enough that the sample stays honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Spurs had beaten the Thunder 111-103 in Oklahoma City on May 30 to close that series. One road win does not avenge a Game 7. It does tell the West which team looked ready to reopen the argument first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-night-in-one-frame\">The night, in one frame<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The NBA\u2019s first night of the regular season gave the East a spoiled celebration and the West a rematch answer. Philadelphia announced that its new core can win ugly in the loudest building on the calendar. Oklahoma City announced that May\u2019s ending is not October\u2019s script. Two games will not settle June. They already framed the questions both conferences have to keep answering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"faq\">FAQ<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"who-won-the-main-nba-opening-night-games\">Who won the main NBA Opening Night games?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The 76ers beat the Knicks 106-100 at Madison Square Garden. The Thunder beat the Spurs 116-104 at Frost Bank Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-did-le-bron-james-and-jaylen-brown-play-in-their-76-ers-debuts\">How did LeBron James and Jaylen Brown play in their 76ers debuts?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>James finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Brown had 19 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-was-the-previous-thunder-spurs-meeting-before-opening-night\">What was the previous Thunder-Spurs meeting before Opening Night?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The Spurs beat the Thunder 111-103 in Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on May 30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opening Night of the 2026-27 NBA season did not ease anyone in. It handed the league two statements before the calendar even settled: Philadelphia walked into Madison Square Garden on banner-and-rings night and left with a 106-100 win, then Oklahoma City reopened its Western Conference Finals argument in San Antonio with a 116-104 road victory. &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":22815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"NBA Opening Night: Sixers, Thunder Make Statements","rank_math_description":"NBA Opening Night recap: 76ers spoil Knicks ring night 106-100 with Maxey's 28; Thunder top Spurs 116-104 as SGA drops 32 in the West Finals rematch.","rank_math_canonical_url":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"NBA","rank_math_facebook_image":"","rank_math_robots":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,148],"tags":[804,808,4905,44,84,1741,1292,829,1369],"content-tags":[],"article_type":[3332],"entity_type":[3336],"inspiration":[3337,3340],"class_list":["post-22809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","tag-jalen-brunson","tag-lebron-james","tag-lebron-james-2026","tag-nba","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","tag-philadelphia-76ers","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","tag-victor-wembanyama","article_type-seo","entity_type-match","inspiration-365s-articles","inspiration-relevancy-trending"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22809"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22821,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22809\/revisions\/22821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22809"},{"taxonomy":"content-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-tags?post=22809"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=22809"},{"taxonomy":"entity_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity_type?post=22809"},{"taxonomy":"inspiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inspiration?post=22809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}