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Tim Bontemps
NEW YORK — After the Philadelphia 76ers dropped their ninth straight game Wednesday night, a 110-105 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Paul George expounded on his recent decision to stop podcasting, saying it was about putting his full focus into “trying to get this team together.”
“It was more so just to focus on here,” said George, who had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in 42 minutes against the Knicks, a game that saw Philadelphia rally from 19 down to take the lead late before falling short. “I haven’t been the healthiest, so it’s just been putting a ton of work towards getting my body as healthy as possible, and to keep focus of obviously being here and trying to turn things around here and the full focus is trying to get this team together.
“But we got to give ourselves a chance. Take it one game at a time, but we got to give ourselves a chance to see what we can do down the stretch.”
Wednesday was a far different showing than Monday’s absolute beatdown at the hands of the Chicago Bulls in Philadelphia, where the 76ers trailed by as many as 50 points and weren’t competitive from the opening tip.
After that game, George — who put out his last episode of “Podcast P with Paul George” earlier that morning — said the 76ers have “shown no sign of a team that will compete. We just don’t have the habits a champion, or playoff contending team, would have.
“To be honest, right now it’s a little far-fetched.”
While the 76ers’ defeat Wednesday night extended their losing streak beyond three weeks, the performance was at least was a step in the right direction.
And for George — who had his best game in a month — it came after his podcast announcement, which he said he had been thinking about for some time.
“It was something that was kind of racking in my head a little bit just because of [being] new to the city, being acclimated to Philadelphia,” George said. “It just came to the point where it was like, ‘All right, this is the time to kind of take a step back for a second.'”
With the Brooklyn Nets losing across town to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 76ers remain ensconced in the sixth spot in the NBA’s draft lottery, and 2½ games back of the Bulls for the 10th and final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.
If Philadelphia’s pick lands in the top six in June’s NBA draft, the 76ers will keep it, the result of a trade in 2020 with the Thunder. If it lands anywhere from 7-30, it will go to Oklahoma City instead.
Throughout this season, the focus for the 76ers has been on making a run and getting their big three of George, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid all on the court. Now, though, it is unlikely all three will play together again this season.
Embiid was out for a second straight game Wednesday and continues to confer with doctors — along with the 76ers — after undergoing imaging Monday on his troublesome left knee.
An update on his status, and whether he will be shut down for the season, is expected in the coming days.
George, meanwhile, has admitted to playing through injuries, while Maxey is dealing with a right finger injury he suffered during Saturday’s loss to the Nets that has impacted his ballhandling and shooting.
“It’s hurting,” said Maxey, who had 30 points and 5 assists against the Knicks but shot 12-for-32 from the floor, including missing all 10 of his 3-point attempts. “But I’ll be fine.”