Paul George was booed on his return to LA for the first time since leaving the Clippers to join the 76ers

Paul George heard about it upon his return to Los Angeles on Wednesday night for the first time since leaving the Clippers for the Philadelphia 76ers last summer.

Fans booed George when he was introduced at the Intuit Dome, the Clippers' new arena, which was nowhere near full. Every time he touched the ball in the opening minutes, they spoke up, and he responded with consecutive three-pointers that gave the Sixers an early tie.

“Boo him tonight and love him afterwards,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said before the game.

George played in only his second game of the season after a left knee injury prevented him from doing so. He scored 15 points in 32 minutes in the Sixers' 118-116 loss to Phoenix on Monday.

“He gave us a little more versatility defensively,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said previously. “He’s 6-9 and can cover multiple things. Gave us a little size. We have definitely established ourselves on offense.”

Toward the end of the first quarter, the Clippers played a George tribute video on the giant halo board above the field. He waved to acknowledge the polite applause.

“He’s a special talent,” Lue said. “He saw everything, saw every defense.”

In five seasons with the Clippers, the native of nearby Palmdale helped them to their first-ever appearance in the Western Conference Finals, but they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs each of the last two years.

George waived his player option in his $48 million contract with the Clippers to become a free agent and was traded to Philly to play with Joel Embiid. He hasn't played yet this season due to a knee injury and is now serving a three-game suspension for shoving a Philly sports columnist.

The Clippers are off to a 3-4 start to the season, hardly the start they want to attract fans to their new building.

Another fan held up a sign that read, “Paul G, please come back.” The Clippers will be without Kahwi Leonard, who hasn't played yet this season, while he nurses his surgically repaired right knee – again. In addition to George, they also lost Russell Westbrook from their Big Four, which now goes to Leonard and James Harden.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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