Paul George made his preseason debut for the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday and provided the kind of performance that have Sixers fans thrilled about the upcoming season.
George tallied 23 points to lead all scorers in the Sixers’ 121–111 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Des Moines, Iowa. The nine-time All-Star shot 8-for-15 from the floor, including 4-for-9 on 3-pointers, and added six rebounds in 26 minutes. He did not play in the fourth quarter.
Tyrese Maxey added 21 for Philadelphia, followed by Kelly Oubre Jr. scoring 15. Andre Drummond grabbed 15 rebounds for the Sixers.
Joel Embiid did not play due to a “scheduled assessment” of his left knee, according to Sixers coach Nick Nurse.
George told reporters at Wednesday’s practice that his goals for Friday’s debut were to build his conditioning and his on-court rapport with teammates.
“Just get some conditioning,” said George, via the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey. “Try to really blow out my lungs, run the floor, all the intangible stuff. I think the talent, it will make its imprint as the season goes on and we get out of preseason. More so, I’ll be in my game. But it’s keeping up with [Maxey], running the floor, giving him space.”
Naz Reid led the Timberwolves with 19 points, followed by 17 from Jaden McDaniels and 16 by Anthony Edwards. Donte DiVincenzo scored six points with seven rebounds in his first preseason game since joining the Timberwolves after being part of the blockbuster trade involving Karl-Anthony Towns with the New York Knicks.
(Towns scored 25 points with 12 rebounds in his preseason debut for the Knicks on Wednesday.)
George joined the 76ers after signing a maximum four-year, $212 million contract in free agency, leaving the Los Angeles Clippers after five seasons. Adding George to their star duo of Embiid and Maxey has raised championship expectations in Philadelphia, who see the Sixers as a challenger to the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics.
During his 15 NBA seasons, George has averaged 20.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, shooting 39% on 3-pointers.
The 76ers tip off the NBA regular season on Oct. 23, hosting the Milwaukee Bucks.