Paul George showed his rust in Sixers debut, but played ‘free of any thoughts’ about his knee injury
On his missed shot with 3.1 seconds left, George says he thought the Sixers were down by one point instead of two. But his presence helped the Sixers offense flow better Monday night.
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PHOENIX — Paul George was far from pleased with his 76ers debut.
“It was bad,” he said Monday after finishing with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and six turnovers in a 118-116 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
“The good thing about it, though, I was able to go out there and compete free of any thoughts of my body not holding up,” he added. “I felt completely fine. That was the positive in it. But all around, it was definitely a rusty game.”
» READ MORE: Paul George scores 15 in debut, but Suns star Kevin Durant hands Sixers their third straight loss
George did all the intangible things for the Sixers (1-5) in his first game after hyperextending his left knee in an Oct. 14 preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks. However, he had a tough time making baskets. He missed his first five shots en route to shooting 4-for-14 — including going 1 of 7 on three-pointers.
George also missed his final three shots. His last attempt came with the Sixers down two with 3.1 seconds remaining.
He made a mental mistake while misfiring on a 23-foot jumper that would have knotted the score.
“Again, bad evaluation,” George said of attempting a two-pointer. “I thought we were down one. When [Kevin Durant] made the layup, that put them up one. Otherwise go for the three to try to win the game opposed to going for a two to tie the game.
“So after watching it, another bonehead play. Again in that situation, why not go for the win?”
George did get a favorable matchup and a good look at the basket. His shot just rimmed in and out. He knows he must improve his shooting and cut down his turnovers. And defensively, he labeled himself as decent.
“Getting trusted to take care of the ball and play make and create opportunities,” George said, “I’ve got to be better with that.”
While on a minutes restriction, George played 31 minutes, 36 seconds. He didn’t expect to play that long. However, George said he felt great as the game progressed. And his stamina was better than expected.
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“I was tired,” he said. “There were moments when I was gassed. But I wanted to play through that to build the endurance up.”
The plan is to elevate his playing time over the next couple of games.
“I wasn’t supposed to play 31,” he said. “But I wanted to play 31.”
While George wasn’t satisfied, his presence led to a more balanced attack for the Sixers. The offense was no longer clunky. And the Sixers had a season-high 27 assists on 40 made baskets.
“So, obviously, again, just one dynamic offensive creator changed a lot, right?” coach Nick Nurse said. “There’s a lot more space to play in. A lot more opportunities to move the basketball.”