The Big 3’s debut lasted about five minutes, because of course that’s what happened.

Tyrese Maxey returned to the lineup after dealing with a hamstring injury on November 6, but Paul George left the game in the third quarter as the Sixers lost 117-111 to the Memphis Grizzlies as this Murphy’s Law-ass season continued.

After being demolished again in the second half, they made a last-minute move to cut the lead to four with 54 seconds left, but it was once again too little too late.

Joel Embiid looked like Joel Embiid again. He led all scorers with 35 points, going 10-of-21 from the field and 14-of-14 from the line. He had 11 rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.

Maxey looked rusty, finishing with eight points on 3-of-13 shooting in 19 minutes of play. George had just two points on 1-of-6 shooting before leaving.

The Grizzlies were without six players and were in the second half of a back-to-back.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First quarter

• Maxey looked pretty good from the jump and got the Sixers on the board with a runner. He moved well and did not appear to be afraid. He couldn’t drop any of his catch-and-shoot threes, which might be a staple for this team. He played the first five and a half minutes before being relieved by Reggie Jackson.
• Embiid has looked much the same to start this season. Brandon Clarke pushed him all the way to the three-point line on one of his first touches, which ended with Embiid simply throwing the ball toward the basket due to a shot clock violation. He did drop a few jumpers as he settled in, and was able to get four shots to the line, finishing the quarter with 10 points.

• McCain again looked very good from the jump, with an early dunk taking advantage of relaxed defense. He later came to the board from deep to lead a bench lineup. A Desmond Bane three with three seconds left tied things at 31 and ended the quarter.

Second quarter

• Familiar trouble to start the quarter helped Memphis carry a 12-2 run. George, who was primarily in the backseat, couldn’t buy a bucket to start. He drained a pair of midrange jumpers at mid-range before getting on the board with a layup that he likely continued. Everything that could possibly go wrong has happened so far, but George will definitely have to suffer some regression in shooting soon, even though his shot selection could still be better.
• Embiid looked more assertive when he checked back in, and that started with him just pushing the ball for quick grabs. He also made good things happen by attacking Clarke, as it left Guerschon Yabusele open for the offensive rebound and found Ricky Council IV for a dunk.

• While there were some positives offensively, they are certainly still figuring things out on both ends of the floor. Similar to their first meeting in Philadelphia, they performed poorly in tracking shooters, and Memphis shot 50% from three in the half. Somehow the Sixers trailed by just 10 at the half despite shooting 22% from deep themselves. It was striking that Maxey did not return after those first five minutes in the first half.

Third quarter

• Well, Maxey was there again to start the second half. The half started with George limping forward after grabbing a rebound on the very first shot. He left the game and went back to the locker room. He was ruled out in the fourth quarter due to left knee hyperextension. At this point you just have to laugh, right?
• Neither team scoring in the first few minutes of the half gave the Sixers time to get their bearings somewhat. In George’s place, Yabusele knocked down a pair of threes to start. He was the only Sixer to make more than one three to that point.

• Despite Caleb Martin blocking every shot he could, the Sixers still couldn’t score together. While Yabu started the quarter 3-of-3, the rest of the team started 1-of-7. After hitting that first runner, Maxey fell to 1-of-8 from the field.
• It was still a struggle to get stops, but the end of the quarter was by far the best Embiid has looked all season. After a few trips to the line, he found himself in the middle, giving this team one of their first easy attacks of the season. There was even an observation that Embiid tried to do too much for the first time this year, giving the Grizzlies two free throws while fighting for a rebound that had already been lost. The Sixers closed the third deficit with nine.

Fourth quarter

• Andre Drummond had a solid first half with eight points, but he still struggles to string together two good shifts. Memphis went right at him, whether it was at the rim or pulling him to the rim, and they had their lead pushed to 17 by the team checking in Embiid again.
• Even as bad as it is now, it’s still frustrating to see lineups with white flags surrounding Embiid in the fourth round. McCain checked out less than two minutes before Embiid reentered the game. It’s reasonable why they were cautious with Maxey tonight, but at least give Embiid and McCain reps together. McCain came back a few minutes later, but so far it still felt strange.
• As would happen, the Sixers had a bit of a comeback after McCain checked back in. A trip to the line and a three-ball extended his streak of 20 or more points. A transition dunk by Kelly Oubre Jr. and suddenly it was a six-point game. They cut it to four, but Embiid airmailed a pass to a cutting Oubre and put the nail in the coffin. If this sense of urgency had appeared two minutes earlier they might have saved it, but instead they are 2-12.

• Remember when the biggest problem at Nets games was booing a guy in a Louis Vuitton hockey jersey? The Sixers are back home on Friday for their next game against Brooklyn. It will be their third game of NBA Cup action at 7:00 PM ET.