George s debut performance was a disaster! The 76ers made a huge comeback, sending the Clippers to 2 consecutive losses, Maxi 39+6, Harden set a record

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On November 18, the NBA 2025-26 season ushered in the league's focus battle. The Philadelphia 76ers sat at home and faced the Los Angeles Clippers. What is frustrating is that the current problems faced by both teams are injuries. For the Clippers, first Leonard suffered an ankle sprain and has missed 7 consecutive games. Then this summer's new aid Bill suffered a hip fracture and was directly reimbursed for the season. Jones Jr. was injured in the last game and will miss at least 6 weeks. In addition, Paul and Collins continue to be in sluggish form. The Clippers currently only have a record of 4 wins and 9 losses, ranking 11th in the Western Conference. Is Harden really unable to carry him?

What’s more interesting is that in the first 14 games of this season, the Clippers have used 7 different starting lineups. In the same period last year, they only used 2 starting lineups. At the same time, the 76ers are not far behind in terms of injuries. The big core Embiid just returned from last season's injury and played a few games. He also suffered a leg injury and missed many games in a row. Paul George, who renewed his contract with a maximum salary last season, has not played a game yet. Under the leadership of Maxey and rising star VJ. Edgecombe, the team still managed a tenacious record of 7 wins and 5 losses, ranking sixth in the Eastern Conference, which is an unexpected surprise.

Before the game, US media ESPN predicted the latest winning rate of this game: the Clippers' winning rate is only 37%, while the 76ers' winning rate is as high as 63%, which is a clear advantage. For today’s game, in terms of the starting lineup, for the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, Derrick Jones Jr., Bradley Beal, and Jordan Miller are all unable to play. Coach Tyronn Lue’s latest starting five is: James Harden, Chris Deng Well, Kobe Sanders, John Collins, Ivica Zubac; for the 76ers, Embiid is still absent. The good news is that George is back. The starting lineup is: Maxey, Barlow, Paul George, Drummond, VJ. Edgecombe.

At the beginning of the first quarter, Paul George received the ball at the top of the arc and met Harden for a three-pointer. He hit his first goal after his comeback. Then he took the initiative to make contact and caused Kobe Sanders to foul Kobe Sanders for a three-pointer. This taught the newcomers a lesson. The 76ers started leading the Clippers 5-0. Harden held the ball and counterattacked in a straight line. Faced with George's defensive attack and scored a layup, Harden immediately responded. Then the offense and defense switched, and faced George again and decisively hit a three-pointer. The Clippers responded with a 14-0 wave to stop the 76ers. Maxi broke through with the ball, drifted back and made a difficult mid-range shot, breaking the scoring drought. Harden followed suit and took a three-pointer to cause a foul on Watford. After making all three free throws, he scored 12 points. VJ-Edge Kumri scored 5 consecutive points with a sudden outside shot. Maxey converted a three-pointer and hit another strong shot. The 76ers narrowed the point difference to 6 points. Harden's signature step-back three-pointer was followed by a breakthrough and another score. At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers led the 76ers by 8 points 33-25.

In the first quarter of the game, Harden played for 12 minutes, scoring 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. His career total score exceeded 28,000 points, setting a new milestone record and becoming the 11th person in history (a player with more than 28,000 points)!

Back in the second quarter, Batum caught the ball and hit a three-pointer steadily. The Clippers had led to 11 points. George dribbled the ball in isolation, turned around continuously and dribbled with his hips, making a mistake and the ball went out of the sideline, which was a bit smooth. Edgecombe advanced into the penalty area and made a strong shot when the defense lost its rhythm. The 76ers narrowed the point difference to 6 points. Christie hit a throw, Zubac held the ball and hit with his back. Surrounded by many people, he turned around and scored with a hook. The 76ers called a timeout. Maxi played small and big singles to defeat Collins. After breaking through the confrontation, he scored 2+1 with a low hook. Then he broke through and hit a difficult floater against Dunn's drift, leading the team to catch up to a 4-point difference. Lopez received a pass from Harden and made a slow lowhand layup to score 2+1. Dunn received a pass from Harden in the corner and faked a pass from Drummond to complete a two-handed dunk. Lopez received the ball in the corner and hit a three-pointer with a sideways step. After halftime, the Clippers led the 76ers 56-46 by 10 points.

Halftime data, for the Clippers, Harden played 17 minutes, made 5 of 9 shots, 2 of 5 three-pointers, 6 of 6 free throws, scored 18 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block; Zubac played 15 minutes, made all 4 shots, contributed 8 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist.

For the 76ers, Paul George played 10 minutes, made only 2 of 6 shots, 2 of 3 free throws, scored 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover.

Change sides and fight again. Harden looked at six directions, moved the ball in a wide range and passed Sanders to the open three-pointer in the bottom corner. Collins made a dunk to score 2+1, and the Clippers led to 13 points. Edgecombe followed up with a counterattack, overtaking three people to catch the ball and dunking with both hands. Grimes missed a free throw and got the offensive rebound to pull back and hit a long shot from outside the three-point line. Maxey switched offense and defense, broke through the emergency stop and retreated and made a mid-range shot. The 76ers went on a 12-2 run to narrow the point difference to 3 points and stopped the Clippers. Bogdan hit a pull-up jumper, Batum caught the ball in the corner, and hit another three-pointer. The Clippers regained the lead to 10 points. Harden broke through and made layups continuously. In the third quarter, he still failed to score on 0 of 5 shots. Then he converted from offense to defense and directly rushed to the frame. He broke through the air for a layup and scored 2+1. After three quarters, the Clippers still led the 76ers by 10 points 83-73.

In the decisive battle in the fourth quarter, Drummond was left open and decisively hit a three-pointer. Maxi made a snake-like breakthrough and passed Harden Zubac, and scored a layup for the 76ers to overtake the Clippers. Harden committed another three-point foul on VJ Edgecombe, and VJ Edgecombe responded with a three-pointer. Sanders jumped high and tipped the ball in for a foul. The 76ers challenged Zubac and successfully changed the foul. The 76ers went ahead by 4 points. In the end, the 76ers completed a 13-point reversal 110-108, giving the Clippers their second consecutive loss.

In terms of statistics, for the Clippers, Harden made 7 of 25 shots, 12 of 12 free throws, and scored 28 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 4 turnovers; Zubac contributed 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 1 assist..

For the 76ers, Paul George had a bad debut, making only 2 of 9 shots, 4 of 7 free throws, 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 turnover, with a plus-minus of -9; Maxi scored 39 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists.