3 observations after George missed game-tying jump attempt in debut, Sixers fall to Suns originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers were on the brink of an uplifting, thrilling victory Monday night.

They couldn’t quite get it, but fell to 1-5 on the 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-of-20 shooting) blew past Guerschon Yabusele to score a lead, George got a substitution the Sixers liked against Grayson Allen. He narrowly missed a long two-pointer that would have tied the game with about three seconds left.

In his return from a left knee bone contusion, George played 32 minutes and scored 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 manager) was the only player to drop out for the Sixers. The team’s 1-5 start is its worst in six games since the 2016-17 season.

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’ loss in Phoenix:

George‘s debut

George had to wait a while for his first Sixers ring.

He attempted a baseline jumper on the Sixers’ opening play and fell far short. On the final possession of the first quarter, George missed a runner attempt on Suns rookie Ryan Dunn and fell 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 normal on Monday in his first competitive action since October 14. Foul trouble didn’t help in the first half either as he worked on finding personal rhythm and building chemistry with his new teammates. George picked up his third foul at the 11:17 mark of the second quarter and fouled out.

He provided a highlight late in the second period, spinning to the rim and then hitting an off-balance and one layup through heavy traffic.

George didn’t have a good night statistically (four assists, seven turnovers) and was predictably rusty at times, but he showed his ability to confidently handle the ball in pick-and-rolls, pressure the defense and open teammates to find. . Clearly, he will need to draw significant attention from defenses and strengthen the Sixers’ offense overall.

George’s error drawing was positive again on Monday. He shot a team-high seven free throws and made six.

In the end, everything will probably seem pretty sour for George and the Sixers because of the final minutes. His last made field goal came at the 10:03 mark of the third quarter.

Bench buckets

The Sixers fell to 0 for 6 from three-point range on an aerial ball from Kelly Oubre Jr. Andre Drummond scored four early goals, including some bad, loose passes in the backcourt, and the Sixers found themselves trailing by 11 points in the first quarter.

Yabusele and Kyle Lowry gave the Sixers some much-needed role-player scoring, each knocking down a pair of threes in the first quarter. Lowry is now shooting a scorching 15 for 25 (60 percent) on the season from long range.

Eric Gordon hit 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 offensively in terms of pace and decisiveness.

Jared McCain also scored a triple in the second quarter. The Sixers’ bench ultimately scored 29 points in the first half on 10-for-17 shooting and 10 assists.

Yabusele was huge offensively all night and Sixers head coach Nick Nurse played him over Drummond at center for the entire fourth quarter.

As he showed at the Olympic Games this summer, Yabusele can be used in any situation. He completed a side pick-and-roll with George in the fourth and knocked in a strong dunk off 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 pose many problems against either man-to-man or zone defense. It is almost impossible to stop Durant from playing his game and scoring very efficiently.

The Sixers still had some good, competitive stretches of team defense. They were effective against Devin Booker, who often burned the Sixers but went just 3 for 18 from the floor on Monday. The team also held its own in terms of rebounds.

Maxey roared into high gear in the third quarter and kept the Sixers with Phoenix. He passed 5,000 career NBA points on his 24th birthday with a deep three, sank 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 looked very fresh early in the fourth quarter. He hit two more three-pointers and the Sixers extended their lead to 113-104 with just over five minutes remaining.

However, they could not scrape away a victory.

Durant proved unstoppable and the Sixers couldn’t find a dagger offensively. Oubre fouled with 1:40 to go and Lowry came in. Caleb Martin missed a baseline jumper after Phoenix blew George and forced the ball out of his hands. Maxey tied the game at 116 with 49.6 seconds left, but then missed his second free throw.

There are always regrettable moments and decisions to question in defeat (for example, the nurse not calling a timeout on the final play), but the Sixers were so close to a well-deserved, high-quality win.

Without Durant’s heroics, they would have gotten it.