The Sixers kicked off their preseason Monday night with a 120-97 win over the defending champion Knicks at Xfinity Mobile Arena.  Jaylen Brown scored 22 points in the first half and watched the second from the bench. The Sixers sat a slew of players, including LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Tyre se Maxey, Anfernee Simons, Dominick Barlow, Adem Bona (left foot sprain) and Tacko Fall (left hip strain).  Ariel Hukporti exited in the first quarter after a non-contact injury, More on that below. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said before the game that Barlow has a minor back injury and Simons has “muscle tightness.” He expected both players to see game action soon. Simons worked out with Brown following the Sixers’ Monday morning shootaround. Nurse did not note any other Sixers health issues pregame. He said he anticipates most of the Sixers’ key pieces playing in at least two of the team’s four preseason contests. Next up is a road game Thursday night against the Nets.  Here are observations on the Sixers’ preseason opener: Hukporti exits early The Sixers started VJ Edgecombe, Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Dean Wade and Hukporti.  The night’s first points came courtesy of reigning Finals MVP Jalen Brunson. He sunk a turnaround jumper for the Knicks, who began with their typical starters and were close to a full-strength squad,  Hukporti assisted the Sixers’ first make with a sharp dish to Wade for a backdoor layup. Unfortunately for the new Sixers center, he didn’t make it through the first quarter. Hukporti fell awkwardly while guarding Karl-Anthony Towns on the perimeter and stayed down with an apparent right lower leg or ankle injury. He limped to the sideline with heavy assistance from Towns and Sixers teammates at the 7:06 mark of the first. Jabari Walker checked in at center and drained a top-of-the-key three-pointer soon after entering. Walker competed well on the glass, knocked down two more triples and finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds in 19 minutes. Wade later slid up to the five. For the time being, the Sixers are sparse on conventional centers behind Embiid. They’ll hope for the best with Hukporti’s injury and that Bona continues to progress in his recovery. The Sixers haven’t set a specific timeline for Bona’s return, though Nurse said last week that he believed the goal was for Bona to play in multiple preseason games.  Brown gets rolling as a Sixer The Sixers took an early 7-4 lead on a Brown baseline jumper. The five-time All-Star was the focal point of the Sixers’ offense and settled into a nice groove as an isolation scorer. Coming off of a career-high 28.7 points per game season, he posted 13 in the first quarter on 5-for-8 shooting. Brown tends to look comfortable attacking against just about anyone who’s in front of him. It’s not difficult to imagine the Sixers leaning on that ability in certain lineups that are relatively light on stars. Monday’s performance was a reminder that even with all the adjustments to come in Brown’s first Sixers season, he’s the sort of player who can be very productive in any situation.  Edgecombe had a good outing serving largely as a facilitator next to Brown. He tallied 12 points, seven assists and zero turnovers.   First look at young guards  Rookie Labaron Philon Jr. was first off the Sixers’ bench. He hit his first shot, a smooth mid-range jumper. Philon generally made sensible decisions with the ball, including on a drive-and-kick feed in the second quarter that set up a Rayan Rupert three. He had six points on 2-for-9 shooting and four assists in his preseason debut. The 20-year-old should refine his sense for how to counter NBA size and athleticism as he gains experience. Purely in terms of offensive tools, Philon has plenty to work with. Two-way contract players Rupert and Caleb Love each played alongside Philon in the first half. Love’s shotmaking talent shined. He drilled his third long-range jumper of the second quarter with a buzzer-beater right in front of the Sixers’ bench, giving his team a 14-point advantage. With the big names on both sides sitting, the Sixers maintained their lead in the second half. Love scored 15 points on 4-for-10 shooting in the game. Improved three-point efficiency would be a significant step for the second-year guard, who shot 32.6 percent from deep over five college seasons and 31.8 percent last year. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less