PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers got back in the win column on Monday with a 110-108 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at home. The Sixers saw the return of Paul George as he played 21 minutes in his first game back since March 4 and Philadelphia will now look to move forward with its core.

The Sixers were led by Tyrese Maxey who had 39 points and six assists while Andre Drummond had 14 points and 18 rebounds. VJ Edgecombe had 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while George had nine and seven rebounds in his first game back since March 4. Dominick Barlow had seven, and Quentin Grimes added 19 huge points off the bench.

Here are the three biggest takeaways following the win over the Clippers:

The return of Paul George

It wasn’t a pretty return, but getting George back on the floor was a huge development for this group. The Sixers will go as far as their star trio takes them and they will need to work George back into things with guys like Edgecombe, Grimes, and Jared McCain as well. The Sixers will need to figure out how to get him back in a rhythm, but the Sixers were able to get him back out there and that’s the only thing that matters at the moment. How they manage him from here will be the big question mark.

“Not bad,” coach Nick Nurse said of George. “Not bad. I think again, little bit of, I think the shot getting to a little clearance on some of the stuff was a little bit out of rhythm, but I thought he had some really—he did a really good job of defensive rebounding, and also, as soon as he got it he was throwing ahead and getting going in transition. So, pretty good, pretty good, I think.”

Grimes slows James Harden

Harden, a future Hall of Famer and one of the best scorers to ever play this game, got off to a great start for the Clippers as scored 17 points in the opening quarter and got LA off to a good start. The Sixers had a tough time slowing down The Beard, but Nurse and Co. turned to Grimes off the bench and he gave Philadelphia a serious lift on either end of the floor. He provided a big boost with his offense, but then used his size and physicality to bother Harden and make life tough on him. He got the game-winning stop against Harden with Philadelphia up by two, and though he might’ve gotten away with a foul, that isn’t his call to make.

“I mean, everybody knows where the ball is going, so I tried to make it as tough as possible,” Grimes said after the win. “I might’ve fouled him. I might’ve not, but that’s not my call. I’m getting out here with a win, so I’m not worried about that, but everybody knows it was going to James. I tried to make as tough as possible for him, and then come out with a win.”

Maxey bounces back

Maxey didn’t have a great performance in Detroit on Friday in the loss to the Pistons as he had his problems, but he erupted for 39 points in 40 minutes in the win over the Clippers. He continues to throw the Sixers on his back in critical moments and was able to guide Philadelphia to this win. The 6-year guard out of Kentucky is now averaging 32.5 points and 7.7 assists while shooting 41.3% from deep. Should everybody be thinking MVP talks this early in the season?

Nurse stated:

I don’t know if I think about that at this particular time. I think that what I talked about before the game was like, that was pretty evident tonight. The way you got to, like, go, and the minutes are going to be 40, right? And you know, you’re going to have to carry a bunch of load, and you have to figure it out, and whatever’s going on, right? Again, I just liked tonight that he got a lot of variety again, right? He wasn’t maybe last game, seemed like—this is not very kind to say—but dribbling in circles, looking for a shot. Tonight, he was getting some in transition, playing some pick-and-roll, getting downhill. He was coming off screens, there was a there was a bunch of variety, and that comes from him being a good play caller as well, right? To not just settle in and run some stuff. Run some different stuff, mix it up a little bit, and it gets hard sometimes when the pressure’s on and they’re chasing you around and that stuff to be able to settle in and do that, but he did a great job of that tonight.