The Philadelphia 76ers were in the driver's seat against the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. They held a 115-108 lead with 3:39 left, but couldn't hold on as Kevin Durant spoiled Paul George's Philadelphia debut and handed the Sixers a 118-116 loss in the desert.

Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 32 points while George had 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Guerschon Yabusele poured in an NBA career-high 19 points while knocking down five triples with seven rebounds and six assists, Kyle Lowry had 13 and seven assists, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 11, and Eric Gordon added 10.

Here are the three biggest takeaways following the loss:

George's gravity

George mentioned recently at practice that he wants to help the offense thrive. He didn't have a great game on Monday, but just his gravity and his presence helped the offense turn things around. The Suns had to pay a lot of attention to him due to who he is and what he brings to the table and that allowed Maxey to get going.

One has to believe that George is going to get this thing together. He was a willing passer, he helped on the glass, and he was able to knock down some tough looks. He did turn the ball over at a high rate, but the difference with having him on the floor compared to the first five games was obvious.

Poor offensive execution down the stretch

The reason why this was not one for the win column was the lack of offensive execution down the stretch. After Yabusele dunked to give Philadelphia a 6-point lead, it was a struggle. Yabusele missed two open looks from deep, Oubre got his shot blocked by Durant on a transition opportunity, Yabusele was called for traveling, Oubre fouled out, Maxey missed a critical free-throw, and George missed the potential game-tying look.

All in all, the Suns turned to Durant and he delivered for Phoenix while Philadelphia was unable to get the same production from George or Maxey down the stretch.

The Dancing Bear went to work

While Yabusele contributed to the loss, one cannot ignore his overall production. The Dancing Bear scored an NBA career-high 19 points and knocked down five triples on 11 attempts. Not only was he scoring the ball, he was contributing in other areas such as rebounding and playmaking. He was fantastic and the Sixers will need more production like this as the season goes on.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers after heartbreaking road loss to Suns