Suffering from rust, which by his own admission, George shoots 4-of-14 while playing 32 minutes against Phoenix.

PHOENIX (AP) – Paul George is back, this time with the Philadelphia 76ers.

He scored 15 points in his return from a left knee injury Monday night and called his performance “rusty.”

“The good thing about this is that I was able to go out and compete, without thinking about my body resisting. “I felt completely fine.” George said after playing 32 minutes in a 118-116 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

George was 4 of 14 from the field, missing a potential tying basket in the final seconds, and said after the game that he thought the 76ers were down one point instead of two. He got into foul trouble early and didn’t score in the first quarter, and committed seven of Philadelphia’s 14 turnovers.

But he got to work and finished with five rebounds and four assists.

“As the game went on, I felt really good,” the nine-time All-Star said. “My knee was better than expected. I wanted to play through that, build the stamina.Get up, help me in the next two games.”

George, 34, signed a four-year, $212 million contract with Philadelphia after five seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Before the game, 76ers coach Nick Nurse said center Joel Embiid, who also hasn’t played due to left knee soreness, said, “He’s a little better, taking steps in the right direction.” The coach added that the 7-foot center will be reevaluated on Tuesday. Philadelphia’s next game is Wednesday night in Los Angeles against the Clippers.