The Sixers were on the verge of an uplifting, thrilling win Monday night.
They couldn’t quite snag it, instead falling to 1-5 this season with a 118-116 loss to the Suns in Paul George’s Sixers debut. Phoenix moved to 6-1.
After Kevin Durant (35 points on 14-for-20 shooting) blew past Guerschon Yabusele and scored a go-ahead layup, George got a switch the Sixers liked against Grayson Allen. He narrowly missed a long two-pointer that would’ve tied the game with approximately three seconds left.
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In his return from a left knee bone bruise, George played 32 minutes and posted 15 points on 4-for-14 shooting, five rebounds and four assists.
Tyrese Maxey had 32 points on 12-for-22 shooting.
Joel Embiid (left knee injury management) was the only player out for the Sixers. The team's 1-5 start is its worst through six games since the 2016-2017 season.
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Next up is a trip to Los Angeles for meetings with the Clippers on Wednesday night and the Lakers on Friday.
Here are observations on the Sixers’ defeat in Phoenix:
George's debut
George had to wait a while for his first Sixers hoop.
He tried a baseline jumper on the Sixers’ opening play and came up well short. On the final possession of the first quarter, George missed a runner attempt over Suns rookie Ryan Dunn and dropped to 0 for 5 from the field.
A catch-and-shoot, quick-release corner three about 15 seconds into the second quarter broke the ice.
George played shorter stints than usual Monday in his first game action since Oct. 14. Foul trouble also didn’t help in the first half as he worked to gain personal rhythm and build chemistry with his new teammates. George picked up his third foul at the 11:17 mark of the second quarter and subbed out.
He provided a highlight play late in the second period, spinning to the rim and then finishing an off-balance, and-one layup through heavy traffic.
George didn’t have a good passing night statistically (four assists, seven turnovers) and was expectedly rusty at times, but he showed his ability to confidently handle the ball in pick-and-rolls, put pressure on the defense and find open teammates. It’s obvious that he should attract significant attention from defenses and enhance the Sixers’ offense overall.
George’s foul drawing was another positive Monday. He shot a team-high seven free throws and made six of them.
In the end, everything will likely seem rather sour for George and the Sixers because of the final minutes. His last made field goal wound up coming at the 10:03 mark of the third quarter.
Bench buckets
The Sixers fell to 0 for 6 from three-point range on a Kelly Oubre Jr. air ball. Andre Drummond committed four early turnovers, including a couple of bad, casual passes in the backcourt, and the Sixers faced an 11-point deficit in the first quarter.
Yabusele and Kyle Lowry gave the Sixers some needed role player scoring, knocking down a couple of first-quarter threes each. Lowry is now a scorching 15 for 25 (60 percent) on the season from long range.
Eric Gordon drilled a three in front of the Sixers’ bench, then added two free throws and a nifty driving layup during a 9-0 run. As a team, the Sixers were much improved in terms of pace and decisiveness offensively.
Jared McCain drained a triple in the second quarter as well. The Sixers’ bench ultimately tallied 29 first-half points on 10-for-17 shooting and 10 assists.
Yabusele was massive offensively all night and Sixers head coach Nick Nurse played him over Drummond at center for the entire fourth quarter.
As he displayed this summer in the Olympics, Yabusele is game in any situation. He slipped a side pick-and-roll with George in the fourth and slammed home a strong dunk on 7-footer Jusuf Nurkić. Yabusele set new NBA career highs in points (19), rebounds (seven) and assists (six).
Durant steals the show late
Phoenix’s offense didn’t have many issues against either man-to-man or zone defense. It’s nearly impossible to divert Durant from playing his game and scoring very efficiently.
The Sixers still had some good, competitive patches of team defense. They were effective against Devin Booker, who’s often burned the Sixers but went just 3 for 18 from the floor Monday. The team held its own in the rebounding department, too.
Maxey roared into a higher gear in the third quarter, ensuring the Sixers stayed right with Phoenix. He passed 5,000 career NBA points on his 24th birthday with a deep three, sunk a step-back jumper over Allen and scored an and-one layup on Durant late in the shot clock.
Maxey played his season average of 41 minutes, but he seemed awfully fresh early in the fourth quarter. He nailed two more three-pointers and the Sixers extended their lead to 113-104 with a little over five minutes to go.
They couldn't polish off a win, though.
Durant proved unstoppable and the Sixers were unable to find a dagger offensively. Oubre fouled out with 1:40 remaining and Lowry entered. Caleb Martin missed a baseline jumper after Phoenix blitzed George and forced the ball from his hands. Maxey tied the game at 116-all with 49.6 seconds left, but he then missed his second free throw.
There's always regrettable moments and decisions to second-guess in a loss (Nurse not calling timeout before the final play, for instance), but the Sixers were so near a richly deserved, high-quality victory.
If not for Durant's heroics, they would've gotten it.
