Sixers Bell Ringer: McCain, George shine as Sixers drop Embiid’s season debut to Knicks

It may have been a night that started focused on Joel Embiid, who made his season debut, but it became all about Paul George and Jared McCain who led the way for the Sixers in a loss to the Knicks.

Sixers Bell Ringer regular season standings:

Jared McCain – 3

Tyrese Maxey – 2

Guerschon Yabusele – 2

Paul George – 1

Kelly Oubre, Jr. – 1

It’s the day all Sixers fans have been waiting for since the beginning of the season: the Emirates NBA Cup is here!

Did you think I meant Joel Embiid’s season debut? That happened tonight, too. After weeks of uncertainty and “new normal” and “ramping up”, Embiid finally got his 2024-25 season started on Tuesday night in the Sixers’ 111-99 loss to the New York Knicks in NBA Cup East Group A action.

While Embiid got back into the groove of things, Paul George and Jared McCain carried the weight of the Sixers’ on their backs. George led the field with 29 points and the rookie McCain wasn’t far behind him with 23 points.

The Sixers hung tough with the Knicks for most of this one, but things fell apart late. A 13-0 New York run in the fourth gave the Knicks their first double-digit lead of the night and Philadelphia could never recover from there. It was hardly the Sixers’ worst effort of this young season—it might have been one of their best, actually—but a combination of sloppy passing, missing open looks and stints of ice cold shooting throughout the game was too much to overcome late.

For a full recap of tonight’s game, check out ours here!

The Sixers are faced with a tough matchup ahead, with the second game of this back-to-back slated for less than 24 hours from now when they host a 12-0 Cleveland Cavaliers squad at 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday.

Until then, let’s get to the Bell Ringer. If you ask me, there’s really only two options for tonight.

Paul George: 29 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

George has been searching for a consistent shooting stroke to start this season, and he certainly seemed to find it tonight. He hit 4-of-5 attempted field goals in the first period for 11 points, and the most encouraging part was that the shots were from all over the floor—midrange jumpers, a triple, at the rim and from the foul line.

And just incase you were thinking it was a fluke, he opened his second period with this three-point bank shot:

George stayed hot all night, just seeming to find a great groove tonight shooting-wise, especially beyond the arc. He finished 10-for-19 (53%) from the floor and an insane 7-for-11 (64%) from long range for a field-leading 29 points.

All this isn’t even mentioning the fact that George was solid on both ends of the floor tonight. He put up a double-double with 10 rebounds (one offensive) as well as finished with three steals and a block, but those are just what shows on the stat sheet. With Embiid still getting back to full gear, having George provide that presence and value on the defensive end is just as monumental for the Sixers as the points he’s scoring.

Jared McCain: 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

McCain looks nothing like a 20-year-old rookie, in the best ways. It doesn’t matter if its Karl Anthony-Towns, Jalen Brunson, the Knicks—he is simply playing without an ounce of fear or hesitation. That combined with just solid basketball fundamentals continues to create success for McCain.

Some solid first half minutes earned the rookie a spot as Nick Nurse’s first sub of the second half, with McCain subbing in just a few minutes into the third for a struggling Kelly Oubre Jr. McCain took that opportunity and immediately proved himself worthy of more. He scored seven straight points for the Sixers in the third frame, using a number of moves on Knicks’ defenders to drive right past them into the paint and finishing strong at the rim, even through contact. There were even a few moments that McCain looked eerily similar to another great young guard from the Sixers squad…

McCain capped off his burst of offensive production in the third with an assist, finding Embiid in a mismatch under the rim for an easy bucket from the big man. The Sixers then sort of fell apart in the early fourth period, but McCain stayed calm and collected, hitting a trio of triples in the final frame in an effort to keep Philadelphia afloat. He finished with 23 points shooting 7-for-16 field goal and 4-for-10 from three.

An interesting development to watch as McCain gets more time on the floor alongside Embiid, also, is just how much space he’s able to get off a screen from the center. There was more than one occasion tonight where the rookie was able to create comfortable separation between himself and defenders off the Embiid screen and it’s a trend Sixers’ fans should hope to see continue from the duo.