Guerschon Yabusele is having a career night, but the Sixers give Kevin Durant and the Suns a thriller in Paul George's debut

Well, they actually looked like an NBA basketball team tonight.

The Sixers lost 118-116 in an exciting duel against the Phoenix Suns on Monday evening.

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

Tyrese Maxey again led the Sixers with 32 points, shooting 12 of 23 from the floor. Guerschon Yabusele stood out as a substitute 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 on 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 one assist and one turnover. Still, just because of his presence, the ground was much better distributed.
• The offense was in trouble again soon after, including a two-and-a-half minute scoreless streak in which the Suns went on an 8-0 run. They missed their first six three-pointers of the evening, but they put their two best deep shooters on the board so far. Kyle Lowry and Guerschon Yabuselse came into tonight's game shooting 63.2% (!) and 35.3% from three, respectively, on the young season. Although their attempts at 3.8 and 3.4 are not particularly high, they are part of this team that is not ideal.
• George was at it again in the final few minutes of the quarter, narrowly missing both three-point attempts and a contested floater, but Lowry and Yabu continued to knock down shots. The Sixers trailed by two after the first game.

Second quarter

• After a few narrow misses in the first half, George opened the second half by hitting a three-pointer from the corner, his first points as a Sixer. He promptly picked up his third foul and left the game.

• The Sixers' offense really got going, though, and it really helped that three point shots fell, as boring as it may sound. Maxey, Eric Gordon and Jared McCain all kept the train moving. McCain appears to have earned the final rotation spot for now, and the return of George should ease size concerns.
• At the same time, Phoenix's offense picked up speed. The combination of Beal and Durant scored 12 of 16 in the first half. George threw a few shots late in the half, including a very tough And-1, and the Sixers still trailed by two shots at halftime after an even quarter.

• Kate Scott mentioned an interesting tidbit on the show. The Sixers were last in the league with 18 assists per game. Tonight they had 16 assists in the first half.

Third quarter

• The second half began with Caleb Martin hitting a much-needed catch-and-shoot three-pointer. Thanks to some relaxed defense from Devin Booker and Jusuf Nurkic, George landed right in an open jumper.
• With the offense humming, Andre Drummond committed a terrible turnover, his fifth of the night, which led to a transition dunk for Beal. He's had a lot of mistakes like this before, and he hasn't recovered nearly enough to compensate. Yabusele therefore checked into games earlier.
• The biggest beneficiary of George's return was undoubtedly Maxey, who quietly enjoyed himself a lovely evening. He hit a couple of pull-up threes late in the third, but he hurt the Suns in midfield tonight, a very good sign. However, on his final drive of the quarter, he didn't create much distance and hit an airball, giving the Suns a one-point lead after three plays.

Fourth quarter

• The self-proclaimed Plumbers did some real heads-up play to open the fourth game. Caleb Martin saved a potential Suns offensive rebound by knocking it away from Grayson Allen before going out of bounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. made another steal shortly after and then made his first three-pointer of the night. An errant Suns pass led to a transition dunk for Martin and a timeout a few minutes later to stop the Sixers' momentum.
• A three-point barrage was exactly what the Sixers needed as Durant got going again. They got two from Maxey and two from Yabusele, who really did everything for the Sixers. Yabu skillfully tracked down offensive rebounds while Maxey went up and impressively stole a pass in the air. He's certainly earned Nick Nurse's trust so far – he played the final 19 minutes of the game after Drummond went off in the third minute.

• The Sixers' crunch-time offense didn't start off particularly well — Yabusele walked, and then Oubre turned the ball over after his shot went into the air. Oubre picked up his sixth foul while trying to keep the loose ball in play.
• Durant took the lead back for the Suns after Caleb Martin missed a jumper from the short corner. On the next possession, he extended the lead to two with a drive to the basket. George dribbled out the clock and missed the long two. The ball bounced to Maxey, but the three didn't fall even if he got away in time. Yabusele's dunk at 3:39 was her last field goal of the night. Tonight, Durant was closer than any of the Sixers stars.
• Next up is the homecoming of Paul George and the chance for many revenge games. The Sixers head to the brand new Intuit Dome to take on the LA Clippers on Wednesday at 10 p.m. on ESPN.