Paul George shows All-Star form, scores 23 points in Sixers debut

DES MOINES, Iowa – Paul George’s scoring prowess was on display Friday night in his preseason debut with the Philadelphia 76ers.

George made 8 of 15 shots and scored a team-high 23 points in a 121-111 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

George played 26 minutes, hit four three-pointers and added six rebounds and two assists.

His exhibition debut continued this preseason with a number of new faces in new locations, including Karl-Anthony Towns in New York, Chris Paul in San Antonio, DeMar DeRozan in Sacramento and Klay Thompson in Dallas.

The 76ers — who signed George to a four-year, $212 million contract as a free agent this summer — are his fourth team, after seven years with Indiana, two with Oklahoma City and the last five years as part of the LA Clippers. He was selected to the All-Stars nine times and All-NBA six times and averaged 20.8 points in his first 14 NBA seasons.

The Iowa game was a homecoming for 76ers coach Nick Nurse. The Iowa native coached Minnesota’s G League team when it was still called Iowa and is the former head coach of NAIA member Grand View University in Des Moines. Nurse was the youngest college coach in the country when he took the job at age 23.