Yabusele has career night but Sixers drop a thriller to KD, Suns in PG’s debut

The Sixers gave the Suns all they could handle, but Kevin Durant spoiled Paul George’s debut and a big night from Guerschon Yabusele.

Well, they did look like an NBA basketball team tonight.

The Sixers fell 118-116 in a nail-biter to the Phoenix Suns Monday night.

Paul George made his Sixers debut, and looked like a damn good basketball player shaking the rust off — and boy did this team need that. He finished with 15 points, shooting 4-of-14 from the field, unable to hit a jumper in the closing seconds to send the game to overtime. With the plan to keep him on a light minutes restriction, he played just under 32 minutes tonight.

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers again with 32 points, shooting 12-of-23 from the floor. Guerschon Yabusele stood out off the bench with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Kevin Durant led all scorers with 35 points, including the game-winning layup with 24 seconds left. He shot 14-of-20 from the field.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• Neither team came out of the gate particularly hot. George’s first shift was quiet — he went 0-for-2 with an assist and a turnover. Even so, the floor was spaced out so much better with just his presence.
• The offense shortly went into another slog, including a two and half minute scoreless streak where the Suns went on an 8-0 run. They missed their first six threes of the night, their two best deep shooters so far got them on the board. Kyle Lowry and Guerschon Yabuselse came into tonight at 63.2% (!) and 35.3% from three on the young season, respectively. While their 3.8 and 3.4 attempts aren’t particularly high, they are on this team which isn’t ideal.
• George checked back in for the last couple of minutes for the quarter, he missed both three point attempts close and a contested floater, but Lowry and Yabu continued to knock down shots. The Sixers trailed by two after the first.

Second Quarter

• After some close misses in the first, George opened the second by rattling home a three from the corner, his first points as a Sixer. He did then promptly pick up his third foul and checked out of the game.

• The Sixers’ offense really got going though, and it really helped that three point shots were falling, as boring as it may sound. Maxey, Eric Gordon and Jared McCain all kept that keep that train rolling. McCain seems to have earned the last rotation spot for the moment, and the return of George should alleviate the size concerns.
• Phoenix’s offense picked things up at the same time. The combo of Beal and Durant combined to shoot 12-of-16 in the first half. George knocked down a couple buckets towards the end of the half, including a very tough and-1, and the Sixers still trailed by two at the half after an even quarter.

• Kate Scott mentioned an interesting tidbit on the broadcast. The Sixers came into the night last in the league in assists per game with 18. They had 16 assists in the first half tonight.

Third Quarter

• The second half opened with Caleb Martin knocking down a catch-and-shoot three, much needed for him. George walked right into an open jumper thanks to some relaxed defense from Devin Booker and Jusuf Nurkic.
• While the offense was humming, Andre Drummond committed a horrendous turnover, his fifth of the night that led to a transition dunk for Beal. Those kind of mistakes have racked up for him so far, and he hasn’t rebounded nearly enough to make up for it. Yabusele has been checking into games earlier as a result.
• Easily the biggest beneficiary of George’s return was Maxey, who was quietly cooking up a nice night for himself. He hit a couple pull-up threes late in the third, but the midrange was where he hurt the Suns tonight, a very good sign. He didn’t get much separation on his last drive of the quarter though and airballed, keeping the Suns at a one-point lead after three.

Fourth Quarter

• The self-proclaimed plumbers made some really heads-up plays to open the fourth. Caleb Martin saved a potential Suns offensive rebound by knocking it off of Grayson Allen before it went out of bounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. knocked loose another steal shortly after then hit his first three of the night. An errant Suns pass a few minutes later led to a transition dunk for Martin and a timeout to halt the Sixers’ momentum.
• A three-point barrage was just what the Sixers needed as Durant started to get going again. They got two from Maxey and two from Yabusele who were really doing everything for the Sixers. Yabu was craftily tracking down offensive rebounds while Maxey left up to impressively steal a pass in mid air. He’s certainly earned Nick Nurse’s trust so far — he played the final 19 minutes of the game after Drummond checked out in the third.

• The Sixers’ crunch time offense did not start great— Yabusele traveled and then Oubre turned it over after getting his shot popped in the air. Oubre picked up his sixth foul trying to keep the loose ball in bounds.
• Durant took the lead back for the Suns after Caleb Martin missed a jumper from the short corner. He extended the lead to two with a drive to the basket on the next possession. George dribbled the clock out and missed the long two. The ball jumped out to Maxey but the three didn’t fall, even if he got if off in time. Yabusele’s dunk at 3:39 was their last field goal of the night. Tonight, Durant was the better closer than either of the Sixers’ stars.
• Up next is a homecoming for Paul George and a chance for many revenge games. The Sixers head to the brand new Intuit Dome to take on LA Clippers Wednesday at 10 p.m. on ESPN.