LeBron’s defense, power and Simons’ heating on the bench led the Sixers to win against the Knicks in the Cup game

LeBron, LeBron, LeBrooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

The Sixers held off a second-half comeback to beat the New York Knicks 98-93 on Friday night, improving to 5-1 on the season and 1-0 in NBA Cup group play.

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 25 points, going 10 of 19 from the field with four assists. Joel Embiid struggled from the field in the second half with 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting, but had seven rebounds and seven assists.

LeBron James had his best offensive performance as a Sixer thus far, shooting 8 of 15 from the floor for 20 points along with nine rebounds, including the putback, to seal the game. VJ Edgecombe had a great night doing all the little things and also made one of the biggest threes of the game, finishing with 13 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting.

Anfernee Simons had 21 while Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 24.

Jaylen Brown was ruled out due to patellar tendinopathy in his left knee, along with Dominick Barlow, Jabari Walker and Tacko Fall.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.