PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers were able to open up NBA Cup play with a 98-93 win over the New York Knicks at home despite missing Jaylen Brown due to left knee tendinopathy. The Sixers improved to 5-1 on the season overall and are 1-0 to begin Cup play as they look to work their way out of Group B and advance to the knockout rounds.

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 27 points and four assists on the night. LeBron James added 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, Joel Embiid had 10 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds, and VJ Edgecombe added 13 points and eight rebounds. Anfernee Simons hopped off the bench and poured in 21 huge points.

Here are the three biggest takeaways for the Sixers following their win over the defending champs:

Sixers lean on their defense

The Sixers entered the night ranked third in the league in defensive rating and they flexed their defensive muscles in this one. Philadelphia finding a way to hold the Knicks to just 93 points and 40.7% shooting is impressive. The Sixers also forced 13 turnovers which they turned into 23 points as they were able to take advantage of New York's mistakes. All night long, the Sixers were tough on the defensive end, even when the Knicks would go on their spurts to make the game closer, Philadelphia would then settle on that end and shut off New York's water to close out the champs for the second time.

"It’s been very, very good," said coach Nick Nurse of the team's defense. "I think that the half-court, especially, has been phenomenal because our starting and especially ending goes through some moments still, or getting it back and getting set up. And I thought we gave up a few too many second shots. But when it's set, the physicality, the communication, the keeping the ball in front, the really not quitting on plays, just not biting on fakes, not giving up angles, we made them take 10 shots where they were just stuck, and they had to throw up a turnaround and we still challenged it. So you have that many good defensive possessions in a game. That's going to take you a long way."

Simons stays hot

After knocking down six triples in Philadelphia's win over the Indiana Pacers, Simons knocked down another five against the Knicks. There were moments in the third when Simons stepped up and knocked down some huge triples in order to keep New York at bay and keep the scoreboard moving. The Sixers had gotten stagnant a bit on offense as the defending champs began to flex their muscles, but Simons hopped off the bench and drilled some huge hoops. Those are the types of plays Philadelphia acquired the 9-year veteran for. He was huge in the win.

"Just reading the game, letting the game come to me," Simons said after the win. "Obviously, first half, offensively, for me was kind of slow but kind of stuck with it. You know, the guys got going. I was able to get some good looks. Everybody pretty much found me out there on the wing or in the corner, so I was able to get going through there. So, yeah, that’s carryover for sure. When you play the right way, your stuff kind of comes naturally to you. Just how the game goes, and so I think that’s what happened tonight, too."

Edgecombe reminds everybody of his presence

The Sixers received 13 huge points from Edgecombe, including him knocking down a huge 3-pointer late to put Philadelphia up by four. The second-year guard gave up a tough 3-pointer to Knicks star Jalen Brunson that put New York up by one with 1:32 to play, but James then made a tough shot to the Sixers back up one, and Edgecombe then knocked down a huge 3 to give Philadelphia a 94-90 lead with 33.6 seconds left. It was a reminder that he is still here and he is still a big part of this team's success. It was just like his rookie season when he would knock down tough shots in the clutch.

"He just does that," said Nurse. "It’s really who he is. I think we all know it. We even talk about it, that he's going to make plays in the crunch time of the game. He makes a huge three, comes flying in for rebound, maybe blocks a shot like in the past and things like that. He really is a playmaker in crunch time, and he did it again tonight."