Paul George’s red-hot scoring and other things we learned in the Sixers’ 153-131 win over the Wizards

WASHINGTON — Paul George continues to impress in his return to the Sixers’ regular lineup, leading them to a 153-131 win over the Washington Wizards in a game that looked dicier than it needed to be at times.

Here’s what we learned:

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Since his return from a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy, George said he feels healthier than he has been in a long time, and it has shown on the offensive end. George came out blazing hot in D.C., scoring eight of the Sixers’ first 12 points. He ended the first quarter with 14 points, two rebounds, and two assists.

“I knew, with this 25 game suspension, I was going to use it wisely,” George said. “I stayed in shape, I stayed sharp, stayed working on my body, but again, it just wasn’t the pounding and wear and tear of if I was going through a game. I was working hard, but I was able to recover and carry it over to the next day.”

His hot streak continued into the second half. George’s 39 points were the most he’s scored in a Sixer uniform — and he’d already smashed the previous high of 35 set on Dec. 14 against Atlanta midway through the third.

“He showed really good leadership by coming out and being aggressive and getting us going at the start,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “The start of both halves. It was just really, really great to see the variety too — got some drives, got some transition threes, got some one-on-one plays, variety of different places on the floor."

George had a chance for his first 40-point effort since March 5, 2023, but ultimately fell just short. He finished with five rebounds, six assists, and three steals on 22 shots.

His offensive production led an overall effective shooting day for the Sixers after a rough trip down to Miami in Monday’s loss. The team shot 62% from the field, including 17-for-35 from three, against the Wizards.

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“He feels really good right now,” Tyrese Maxey said of George. “He looks really good. He’s making shots. He’s making plays defensively. He’s playing hard. He’s doing what we ask him to do."

Offensively, the Sixers have been red-hot since George’s return from suspension, scoring 153 points in Washington after a 157-point effort against the Chicago Bulls on March 25.

But defensively, there’s still work to do. The Sixers allowed 71 points in the first half to the Wizards, including 42 second-quarter points.

“I didn’t think we were into the ball enough,” Nurse said. “We were just off five or six feet, and they were getting momentum started, until, we kept talking about, you’ve got to press up, and we’ve got to get more physical with them.”

In the third quarter, which has been a source of struggle for the Sixers for much of this year, the Sixers flipped the script. George, who Nurse has often praised as the leader of the team defense, led the 47-32 run that put the game away.

“I thought we switched things up when we went man-to-man, or one-to-five,” George said. “I thought that took them out of their actions a little bit. It allowed us to get our defense active and heighten our awareness.”