Paul George scores 15 in debut, but Suns star Kevin Durant hands Sixers their third straight loss

PHOENIX — His first basket didn’t come until 18 seconds into the second quarter, allowing Paul George to break out of a mini-slump in his first game of the season. His final basket came with 10:03 remaining in the game.

Despite a rough shooting night, the nine-time All-Star showed why the 76ers gave him, at age 34, a four-year maximum-salary deal this summer.

His presence alone made them a more competitive team.

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While that was welcomed in his season debut, it didn’t help the Sixers from losing their third consecutive game.

Monday night’s 118-116 loss at the Phoenix Suns dropped them to 1-5 heading into Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome. That game will be a homecoming for George, who spent the last five seasons with the Clippers.

The Sixers built a seven-point cushion in the fourth quarter. But their lead shrunk to one point with 1 minute, 40 seconds to play. Then Kevin Durant’s jumper with one minute left put Phoenix up, 116-115.

Tyrese Maxey split a pair of foul shots on the ensuing possession to knot the score. But Durant, who scored game-high 35 points for the Suns (6-1), responded with a layup with 24 seconds left.

George missed a 23-foot jumper with 3.1 seconds left, then Maxey didn’t get a three-pointer off in time at the buzzer.

George finished with 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists in 31:32 of court time after missing the first five games after hyperextending his left knee and suffering a bone bruise on Oct. 14. He didn’t have the best shooting night, making 4-for-14 shots — including going 1 of 5 on three-pointers. But George displayed all of the intangibles.

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And his presence freed things up for Maxey, who finished with 32 points on his 24th birthday. Kyle Lowry (13 points), Kelly Oubre Jr. (11 points), and Guerschon Yabusele (19 points) were the other double-digit scorers. Yabusele, who hit five three-pointers, closed out the game at center in place of Andre Drummond.

The Suns called a timeout with 6:53 left in the first quarter. George was noticeably fatigued while walking to the bench. At the time, he had zero points while missing both of his shot attempts to go with a turnover.

He was subbed out by Eric Gordon. But being on a minutes restriction was always part of the plan.

“I think he feels good,” Nick Nurse said before the game. “I think more of the conditioning aspect is something that we have to try to do. Try not to get him too far in the red zone early. Try to keep those stint a little shorter early, especially”

George returned to the game at the 3:00 mark of the first, replacing Maxey. He was called for a foul eight seconds later, then picked up his second foul less than a minute later. George missed his third and fourth shot attempts on the ensuing possession, then turned to ball over on the following possession. He finished the quarter with zero points on 0-for-5 shooting and two turnovers.

After making his first basket early in the second quarter, George picked up his third foul moments later and had to go to the bench. He returned with 5:40 before intermission.

George scored his second basket with 1:44 left in the half. It came while making an acrobatic layup while being fouled by Bradley Beal. He also made the free throw to put the Sixers up 61-58.

Finding his rhythm, George buried a three-pointer on the next possession. The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder started a couple of the Sixers drives by grabbing defensive rebounds, pushing the tempo the up court and getting his team into their sets.

He scored 10 second-quarter points in the quarter on 3-for-4 shooting and grabbed three defensive rebounds.

“His ability to score on all three levels,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said of how George’s presence helps the Sixers. “His ballhandling mixed with his height at 6-8 and ability to kind of create separation off the dribble. And then also … a great guy coming off pin downs and coming off screens.”

Budenholzer spoke of athleticism and burst to get to the paint and finish there, get to the foul line and get early three-pointers in transition.

“I think he’s just a very unique, gifted player,” he said. “It’s like he basically can do everything offensively. And he also can fit within the flow of a team. Kind of picks his spots and seems like a great teammate. He’s just been one of the great players in our league for a long time.”

The early rust was completely gone in the third quarter. George stood out on both sides of the ball and was a vocal leader. But as part of his minutes restriction, he went to the bench after a 4:55 stretch. But the Sixers remained in the game before he returned with 26.0 left in the third quarter in large part because of Maxey’s 13 third-quarter points. The Suns took a 94-93 cushion into the fourth.

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Joel Embiid remained sidelined with what the Sixers are calling left knee injury management.