Six Thoughts: Sixers Lose to Hawks in Controversial Fashion Despite Paul George's Monster Night

Paul George, Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe stepped up with Tyrese Maxey missing his second consecutive game with an illness. But a brutal night from the bench cost Philadelphia in another close game.

Here are five thoughts on the 120-117 loss.

Embiid's big test

Whether Embiid admits it or not, his availability in this game was a milestone of sorts. It was the first time this season he's played two games in three nights, or, in other words, with just one day of rest in between games.

The first half, alone, was surprising. Embiid didn't show any fatigue, and his confidence picked up where it left off in Friday's win over the Indiana Pacers. There were some touches in which he settled, throwing up long jumpers that lacked rhythm within the offense. But Embiid largely embraced physicality. He attacked the paint, out of the post and face-up and out of the drive.

Nick Nurse and Embiid's teammates — specifically George — deserve some credit. They found an action that worked and rolled with it until Embiid's time to sub out came or the Hawks found a solution to guarding it. George set pin-down screens for Embiid on the right side of the floor, allowing him to curl into catches at his sweet spot on the right elbow.

Embiid functioned as a fulcrum of the offense from that spot, deciding whether he had the rhythm to line up mid-range jumpers or kick out to the open teammate. The play design put Embiid in positions that concerned Atlanta enough to send double-teams on the catch. If Embiid saw the open teammate one pass away, he generated the Sixers' shot on the first or second pass around the court.

You could tell that Embiid was feeling good by the way he approahed driving opportunities. He maneuvered around defenders in his way and acted on contact, grifting easy trips to the line. Embiid still has levels to hit, like getting all the way to the rim and finishing strong. But he has moved really well over these last two games. And he's doingit on both ends.

Embiid is testing his limits and accepting that he has to adapt to whatever constraints he might have, whether they be mental or physical. He's not sacrificing one end of the floor in favor of focusing on the other. Embiid's shot-blocking and playmaking at the rim has not recovered to where it once was. Maybe it will never come back. But he's stepping to the ball in traffic and making himself wide and long to disrupt throught processes at the rim. And to add to Embiid's momentum, he's starting to make a much better effort to rebound the basketball.

The days following this game will be critical as Embiid's knee(s) respond to the increased workload. But a really encouraging night for Embiid. If he can stack days on the end of the week he's had, it changes Philadelphia's short-term ceiling.

That would be max-contract George

George started out with a pair of threes from the left corner, fitting well into the flow of the offense. He then toggled to a more on-ball role to open the second quarter, lacing a pair of triples from the top of the key without relying on teammates to set him up. George looks better with each passing game, and he played a dominant offensive game. He did it with both physicality and finesse, finding the driving edge and pushing through contact to get to the rim for scores.

His second-quarter run of form was particularly excellent. The defensive playmaking supporting the offensive excellence. He contested with discipline at the rim, disrupting shots by stretching out his arms and keeping his hands back. His senses as a team defender were excellent, George putting himself in spots to make plays on passes and get the Sixers out and running.

On Friday, it was just the injury-stricken Pacers. On Sunday, his best game in a Sixers uniform, he cooked against the likes of Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher. It can all disappear with a sudden tweak, but reports of George's demise were greatly exaggerated. His best game as a Sixer.

Edgecombe eats

Love to see Edgecombe finding his aggression again. 21 shots for the rookie, with 10 attempts from three. He's getting more comfortable with the deep ball, stretching his repertoire into pull-ups instead of strictly catch-and-shoots. Edgecombe has rediscovered his confidence attacking straight into the chests of defenders. Philadelphia has given him a lot of on-ball opportunities. He hasn't been effective in those reps consistently. But he attacked Atlanta head-on on Sunday, absorbing contact to get to the rim and finding angles to kiss the ball off the glass. The rookie kept the Sixers in the game in the third quarter when the Hawks threatened to pull away again.

Something has to give for Justin Edwards

Nurse remains a vocal advocate for Edwards, but it's increasingly difficult to justify having him in the rotation. He played just under nine minutes on Sunday and Nurse wouldn't have been justified in giving him more run than that. Edwards is not a reliable three-point shooter, and he's not capitalizing on open looks from deep. It would be justifiable to play him if he was doing high-level work on defense, but he's a liability on that end. Edwards is struggling to stay in front of the ball often, handlers targeting him and beating the second-year wing to spots for explosive first steps into dribble penetration.

Where was the timeout?

Speaking of Nurse, extremely difficult to explain why no timeout was called on Philadelphia's penultimate possession of the game. The Sixers were clearly out of sorts, which led George to dribble his way into a heavily-contested corner three that popped out. Philadelphia got a second chance at it, the possession resetting on an offensive rebound by Edgecombe. Quentin Grimes got a fine look at the basket, but the play was totally broken. It would have been one thing if Nurse wanted to save his final timeout for an ATO after the Sixers intentionally fouled down by one point. But he had two timeouts remaining. He just let the possession play out without calming the waters. It could've changed the outcome in this game.

The missed backcourt violation was bad, but the Sixers are not victims

The Sixers didn't go down without a bit of controversy. The officiating crew missed a clear over-and-back violation on Nickeil Alexander-Walker as he retrieved the inbound pass on an ATO. Had it been called, the Sixers would've received possession down by one, a chance to win the game at the end of regulation.

Instead, the no-call rightfully confused the Sixers, who didn't think such a blatant call would be missed. When the whistles went silent, they had to then catch up to commit a foul, eating clock and putting themselves in position for little more than a catch-and-shoot three just to tie the game if Atlanta made both free throws.

Suffice it to say, not great by the judges.

But Philadelphia would never have been in that position had they gotten more than nine points out from their bench. The Hawks pulled Vit Krejci off the bench for 19 points, alone. Phiiladelphia mustered just two made shots from its reserves. That won't do.