INGLEWOOD, California. – Paul Georges heard about it when he returned to Los Angeles on Wednesday night for the first time since leaving the Clippers last summer for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Fans booed George when he was introduced at the Intuit Dome, the Clippers’ new arena that seats 18,000 but drew an announced 15,627 spectators. They were heard every time he touched the ball throughout the match. From the start, he responded by hitting consecutive 3-pointers.

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

George scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds in 24 minutes. defeat 110-98. The Sixers fell to 1-6.

“He was getting a lot of attention, a lot of double teams,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “He had some good buckets and played pretty good defense at times, but again, he’s still working on his conditioning.”

George was playing only his second game of the season after a left knee injury kept him out. He scored 15 points in 32 minutes in the Sixers’ 118-116 loss at Phoenix on Monday.

“They’re throwing a lot of things at me that I’m not at all ready for right now because I’m still trying to get healthy,” George said. “I will be better. I’ll get the job done, but it’s a difficult time.

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

“Every time I tried to lock in and get ready, I looked over and saw someone I knew,” he said. “Instantly it took me out of that preparedness mindset and then I tried to lock in and there was another person.”

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 the last two years.

“He’s a special talent,” Lue said.

George waived his player option in his $48 million contract with the Clippers to become a free agent and was courted to Philadelphia to play with Joel Embiid.

“It’s stupid,” George said of the boos. “I was a free agent. This isn’t something I demanded a trade or went against the team here. I did what was best for me in this situation.

The Clippers are 4-4 to open the season, which is not the kind of start they want to attract fans to their new building.

“I wish it was a little fuller,” George said. “This thing is amazing, what (owner Steve) Ballmer has done and his vision. This is the best arena to play in.

The wall, a section of seating reserved for die-hard Clippers fans located near the visitors’ bench, also took its toll on George.

“I think I won The Wall,” he said. “They need to do a little better.”

Another fan held up a sign reading “Paul G, please come back.” The Clippers are without Kahwi Leonard, who has yet to play this season while nursing his surgically repaired right knee – again. Besides George, they also lost Russell Westbrook from their Big Four, which now goes to Leonard and James Harden.

“There is no disagreement. I talked to these guys throughout the whole process,” George said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re teammates or not, these are lasting bonds that you build. Whatever happens in basketball, it doesn’t affect this relationship.

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