Star LeBron James and his new teammates in the Philadelphia 76ers spoiled the New York Knicks’ celebrations of the start of the NBA season on Tuesday, after they defeated the defending champion 106-100 on the night the team raised the championship banner in Madison Square Garden.
James, 41 years old, who is preparing to enter his record 24th season in the league, with his fourth team, scored 14 points and made 7 assists out of the team’s 28, providing an exciting glimpse of his role as a playmaker for his younger teammates, such as Tyrese Maxey, who was the best scorer with 28 points.
“I can be a lot better,” James told NBC. "I'm still finding my rhythm, and obviously I've only been with the new squad for a little over two weeks."
He added: “But I liked the way we played.” I think we gave an excellent performance; Especially from a defensive standpoint.”
Jaylen Brown, the former Boston Celtics star who joined Philadelphia in a huge deal for Paul George in July, scored 19 points, with 8 rebounds and 6 assists, while giant center player Joel Embiid added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Sixers.
Jaylen Brunson led the Knicks with 21 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points and 12 rebounds, but after the Sixers regained the lead in the third quarter, he blocked all of the Knicks' attempts to come back.
The Knicks ended a 53-year drought by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the final of last season.
Knicks legends Bill Bradley, Earl Monroe and Walt Frazier presented championship rings to the team's players during an emotional ceremony before the game; The audience included famous die-hard Knicks fans such as Ben Stiller and Spike Lee, along with other figures including rock singer Jon Bon Jovi and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Before raising the third flag of the tournament to the ceiling of the hall, Bronson told the fans that the Knicks are “ready to turn the page as a team.”
He continued: “But there is something I would like to say: The joy that this city experienced last summer, we would like to repeat it again,” referring to the Knicks’ quest to become the first team to retain the title since 2018.
James, who won four league championships and holds the record for the number of points scored in the history of the competition, acknowledged that winning on the night the rings were handed over to another team had a special taste. “It's very special,” he said.
In the second match of 3 confrontations on the opening day, Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points, and led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a victory over the San Antonio Spurs 116-104, led by Frenchman Victor Wimpanyama, benefiting from a strong start.
Wimbanyama, who many expect will end Gilgeous-Alexander's dominance of the Best Player award for the third season in a row, only made 13 rebounds and 6 blocks, and scored 12 points, most of which were made through 10 free throws.
But the Spurs, led by Stephon Castle, who scored 24 points, could not find a solution against the “hungry” Oklahoma team, after the defense of their title ended with a loss to San Antonio in 7 games in the Western Conference final last season.
“It is clear that this is the team that denied us our goal,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
He added: “But for us, I think it was about happiness to be back again.” "The summer is longer when you don't win, and we felt that this summer."
The match witnessed a lot of tension between the two teams, which are expected to compete for leadership of the Western Region in the coming years.
A serious foul was awarded to De'Aaron Fox, a Spurs player, after he threw Thunder player Chet Holmgren to the ground at the beginning of the second quarter, which sparked an argument between the players and led to several technical fouls being awarded.
The Spurs started the third quarter with discipline, and twice succeeded in reducing the gap to 7 points in the second half, but the Thunder came back and widened the gap again.
The league's eighty-first season began in Detroit. The Pistons spoiled Paul George's debut with the Boston Celtics, despite scoring 38 points, in a confrontation between the two best-recorded players last regular season.
Cade Cunningham and Jaylen Duren scored 22 points each, and Duncan Robinson added 15 of the 21 points he scored in the fourth quarter, leading the Pistons to a 121-113 win after overturning their deficit, taking advantage of a scoring streak of 23 consecutive points without response.
Enzo Maresca affirmed his confidence in Phil Foden's ability to play an influential role in Manchester City's journey during the current season, after watching him score three goals (hat-tricks) in the landslide victory over AEK Athens (5-1), in the European Champions League.
The British news agency (PA Media) reported that Elliot Anderson scored his first goal for Manchester City, and Rayan Sharqi also scored a wonderful goal with a distinctive artistic touch, but Foden stole the spotlight in the match. Foden entered his team's match against Ipswich last Saturday without scoring any goals since December, after suffering from a decline in his level and lack of participation for the second season in a row, before he ended up outside the England national team's squad for the World Cup.
After being sent off during Manchester City's win in the city derby against Manchester United last September, Foden was away from the field for a month, but returned to score a goal in the 3-2 win over Ipswich on Saturday, before providing glimpses of his distinguished level, by scoring a hat-trick in Tuesday's match.
Maresca said: “I said from day one, I consider him one of the best English players. For various reasons in the last two or three years he has not been good enough, but I know well his abilities, so I am trying to help him, because we are confident that he will offer a lot to the team this season.
Foden's first and second goals came with two assists from his teammate Rico Lewis, a graduate of the club's academy, before Lewis also contributed to creating the third goal, which Foden scored with an assist from Ryan McAidoo, one of the rising talents from the youth ranks.
The match was a special night for the Manchester City Academy, as striker Floyd Samba started instead of Erling Haaland, helping the team field the youngest starting lineup in its history in a Champions League match, with an average age of 24 years and 65 days. Mac Aidoo and Kayden Braithwaite - both 18 years old - also participated as substitutes during the match.
Maresca said: “The three players coming from the academy performed well, especially Floyd, who started. “He was good in the game before the first goal, when the team got the free kick, and he played a good game overall.”
He added: “Ryan McAidoo left his mark immediately upon his participation, as did Kayden, and so I feel very happy. It is always a pleasure for me to give these players the opportunity to participate, even if for a short time.”
He continued: “Phil, who is also a graduate of the academy, also scored a hat-trick, so I think it was a good night, and at the same time we had the opportunity to rest the players who have participated in every match since the beginning of the season.”
The trial for the death of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona entered its final stage on Tuesday, with defense arguments demanding the innocence of psychologist Carlos Dias and psychiatrist Agustina Kosashov, as their lawyers described them as having nothing to do with the death, or that they were powerless to prevent it, or were not fully aware of the facts.
Dias, an addiction treatment specialist, is considered a special case in the ongoing trial since April to try the medical team that supervised Maradona’s treatment on charges of negligence that led to his death, after his death in November 2020 during a period of home hospitalization after undergoing neurological surgery that was described as simple.
Dias, 34, joined during the last month of Maradona's life to help him quit alcohol and psychotropic drugs.
While the prosecution and civil parties called for the imprisonment of six of the seven defendants, the Dias case clearly divided, reflecting a degree of ambiguity about the true responsibilities surrounding Maradona in his final days.
The public prosecution demanded that he be imprisoned for five years, which was supported by two other parties, while the lawyer for one of Maradona’s sons demanded that he be imprisoned for 12 years, while two other parties called for his complete acquittal.
His lawyer, Luciano Zorrilla, said at the beginning of the defense arguments on Tuesday: “They could not agree on the nature of the accusation against Carlos Dias nor on the reasons that make him responsible for Maradona’s death. This is a pivotal point in this trial.” He added that the different parties “presented contradictory and conflicting narratives regarding his role,” stressing that “the absence of certainty means the presence of doubt, and with the presence of doubt comes acquittal.”
For his part, his other lawyer, Diego Olmedo, said: “Dias is not a doctor, nurse, or radiologist. He is a psychologist. He was contracted to prevent Maradona from drinking alcohol or using drugs, and Maradona died without alcohol or drugs in his blood,” he said, citing the results of toxicological examinations conducted after death.
He added that the death was “the result of medical problems beyond the jurisdiction of Carlos Dias.” He is a psychologist,” stressing that “by virtue of his specialty and role, he had no possibility of preventing death in any way.”
Maradona was found dead in his bed inside a house in the Tigre region, north of Buenos Aires, which had been rented for his recovery period, at the age of 60, following a cardiorespiratory attack accompanied by pulmonary edema.
During his plea in defense of psychiatrist Kosashov (41 years old), whom the prosecution demanded to be imprisoned for eight years, lawyer Vadim Mishanchuk also stressed the nature of his client’s specialty, stressing that “she was clear from the beginning when she said: (I am Maradona’s psychiatrist),” and that her role was limited to supervising drug treatment related to that specialty.
On the other hand, he directed sharp accusations against the private medical services company Swiss Medical, whose representative, Nancy Forlini, who is accused of her role in the case, was the medical coordinator for Maradona’s recovery period. The prosecution had demanded ten years in prison.
He said, “Dr. Kosashov never acted impromptuly. On the contrary, if we read the medical file, we will find that she was meticulous to the point of obsession in following up on Maradona’s condition.” But he pointed out that she did not receive the necessary information or was receiving incomplete information, and was even excluded from some correspondence groups between the company and the nurses.
He added: “No one informed her of cases of rapid heartbeat or high blood pressure. No one told her anything.” “She collected the information she could get her hands on and only received what others wanted to tell her.”
He continued: “Whenever I learned of bad news, I took action to address it,” blaming Swiss Medical in return, which he said “was behaving as it wanted.”
He described the flow of medical information from Maradona's place of recovery as "like the Bermuda Triangle."
The defense arguments are expected to continue until Thursday, with the verdict being postponed to a later date.
