NEW YORK — The New York Knicks spent 53 years trying to hang another championship banner in Madison Square Garden. Tuesday night, they finally got around to it.
Unfortunately, somebody forgot to tell the Philadelphia 76ers they were supposed to be part of the celebration.
The Knicks got the rings. They got the applause. They got the standing ovations, the glittering ceremony and the satisfaction of seeing a championship banner raised to the rafters for the first time since 1973.
Philadelphia got the basketball game.
The final score was 106-100, but that hardly tells the story. The Knicks were the defending champions of the basketball world for approximately three quarters before the 76ers reminded them that last year's championship comes with no points toward this year's standings.
New York opened the evening like a Hollywood premiere and closed it like a tax audit.
Madison Square Garden has seen its share of disappointments over the years. Most of them came without championship jewelry.
This one came with diamonds.
The Knicks, who had swept Philadelphia out of last season's playoffs, were facing a considerably different outfit. The 76ers had acquired Jaylen Brown from Boston and persuaded LeBron James to continue his basketball odyssey in Philadelphia, where he began his 24th NBA season at the age of 41.
LeBron has been playing professional basketball so long that some of his current opponents weren't born when he started. He has changed teams, conferences, coaches and hairstyles, but he apparently has no intention of changing professions.
He contributed 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, operating less like a one-man wrecking crew and more like a traffic director who occasionally decides to drive the bus himself.
Brown supplied 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Joel Embiid contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds.
But the fellow who really spoiled the party was Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey scored 28 points, which is a rather rude thing to do when visiting somebody else's championship celebration.
He attacked the Knicks' defense with the sort of urgency normally associated with a man who has double-parked outside Madison Square Garden. Whenever New York threatened to restore order, Maxey seemed to appear with another basket, another steal or another reminder that Philadelphia hadn't come to admire the decorations.
The Knicks had their opportunities.
They led 58-54 at halftime, which suggested the evening might conclude as it began, with New York celebrating itself. They had built a 10-point advantage earlier and seemed capable of putting the visitors away.
Then came the third quarter.
Philadelphia outscored New York 29-18, finishing the period with an 11-0 run that included consecutive three-pointers from Brown. The last came at the buzzer, giving the 76ers an 83-76 lead.
In less time than it takes a Manhattan waiter to deliver the check, the Knicks had gone from defending champions to defending themselves.
New York did make another run.
Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, connected on a three-pointer to narrow Philadelphia's advantage to 96-95 in the fourth quarter.
The Garden stirred. The faithful stood. The old building seemed ready for another one of those improbable comebacks that had carried the Knicks to the championship.
Embiid promptly hit a three-pointer.
There is nothing quite so effective at silencing 19,000 optimists as a seven-footer with a jump shot.
Jalen Brunson, the hero of last spring and the man who had carried New York through so many desperate moments, scored 21 points but made only six of his 19 shots.
On championship night, the Knicks' most reliable closer couldn't find the combination to the safe.
New York shot just 37.2 percent from the floor. Its offense frequently looked like five men waiting for somebody else to solve a problem. The defense was equally obliging, surrendering 28 fast-break points to Philadelphia.
Coach Mike Brown described his team's movement as "running in mud."
That may have been generous. Mud occasionally moves downhill.
The Knicks had spent the summer being toasted, photographed, congratulated and celebrated. Their championship was the genuine article, earned through a postseason that finally ended New York's long basketball drought.
But Tuesday illustrated the difference between winning a championship and defending one.
Last season's victories cannot be deposited into this season's account. The rings don't shoot free throws. The banner doesn't guard anybody. And the opposition is under no contractual obligation to respect your memories.
Philadelphia certainly didn't.
The revamped 76ers may or may not become the biggest threat to New York's hopes of repeating. One October basketball game cannot settle that question. The NBA season is an 82-game examination, and opening night is merely the first question on the test.
But Philadelphia passed that question.
New York spent much of the evening admiring the evidence of what it had accomplished.
Philadelphia was busy demonstrating what it might accomplish next.
The Knicks will have plenty of opportunities to straighten things out. They are still champions, still talented and still capable of making Madison Square Garden the most uncomfortable visiting address in basketball.
But there is one small problem with the championship ceremony.
The banner stays up all season.
So does the opening-night loss.
And somewhere in Philadelphia, the 76ers must be enjoying the knowledge that while the Knicks were celebrating the past, they had already begun writing the future.
The Knicks raised a banner Tuesday night.
The 76ers raised a question.
Which one matters more come June?
