Norman Powell scored 26 points and James Harden added 18 as the Los Angeles Clippers spoiled the return of Paul George with a 110-98 victory over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday at Inglewood, Calif.
Ivica Zubac scored 15 points with nine rebounds and Derrick Jones Jr. added 14 points as the Clippers won their second consecutive home game after losing the first four at their new $2 billion arena.
George scored 18 points for the 76ers in his second game of the season and first against his former team after leaving as a free agent in the offseason. Kelly Oubre Jr. also scored 18 points and Caleb Martin added 14 for Philadelphia, which dropped its fourth consecutive game and fell to 1-6.
Tyrese Maxey scored 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting for the Sixers before departing in the fourth quarter with right hamstring soreness.
The 76ers activated Joel Embiid (knee) for the first time this season, but the 2022-23 MVP remained out as he started to serve a three-game suspension for an altercation with a newspaper columnist Saturday.
George was honored with a video tribute during the first quarter, when the Sixers pulled out to a 27-24 lead. George played five seasons with Los Angeles and averaged 23.0 points.
The game was tied 51-51 at halftime as Philadelphia shot 54.3 percent from the floor and Los Angeles shot 48.8 percent.
The Clippers began to pull away late in the third quarter, taking their first double-digit lead at 78-68 with 2:14 remaining in the period on three free throws from Harden. Los Angeles went into the fourth quarter with an 84-68 lead after outscoring Philadelphia 33-17 in the third period by shooting 66.7 percent.
Harden added six assists with four rebounds and three steals against his former team, while shooting 5 of 15 from the floor and 1 of 6 from 3-point range. George was 7 of 9 overall and 2 of 3 from distance.
–Field Level Media