For the first three and a half quarters of tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons, Paul George sucked. He was 2-11 from the field and had 7 turnovers, and the Pacers were staring at a possible third consecutive loss to drop themselves out of the playoff standings. Considering how badly George and the Pacers have been struggling as of late (notwithstanding his 31-point performance against a loss against the Bucks, most of which came after the game was practically over), it was not looking good — especially as the team is about to embark on a four-game road trip.
Then, something strange happened. Paul George remembered he’s a superstar, and proceeded to destroy the Pistons. With the Pacers up 73-71 and hanging on by a thread, PG is fouled and goes to the line for two with 4:47 remaining in the game.
This is the Pacers’ play-by-play scoring for the rest of the game:
– Paul George makes free throw 1 of 1
– Paul George makes free throw 2 of 2
– Paul George makes driving layup
– Paul George makes three-pointer jumper
– Paul George makes three-point jumper
– Paul George makes 20-foot step-back jumper
– Paul George makes pull-up three-point jumper
– Paul George makes 19-foot jumper
– Paul George makes 18-foot jumper
– Paul George makes technical free throw*
– Paul George makes technical free throw*
*Stan Van Gundy picks up 2 consecutive technicals to get tossed with 23 seconds remaining.
That’s right. Paul George scored the Pacers’ last 21 points of the game — without a miss, mind you — to finish with 32 points and 14 rebounds on 9-18 shooting, including 4-7 from three and 10-12 from the free throw line. Just when you start to lose faith in him he reminds you that he is a superstar of the game and by far the biggest difference maker on the team.
The only stain on PG’s 4th quarter performance is a minor scuffle at the end with Marcus Morris that was moronic. On the earlier possession, the Pistons pressured George Hill when everyone expected them to just run out the clock (as the Pacers were up by 12 with possession the shot clock off), leading to a turnover. So when the Pistons appeared to be running out the clock on the next possession, PG swipes the ball loose and goes for it, and gets a shove from Morris in return. They bump chests, exchange close-talking words, and Morris delivers a shove. Nothing to it, really, but silly stuff from both sides.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTJBjhJCXIw
Kudos too, to the rest of the team, for holding down the fort while PG was rubbish. George Hill feasted on the smaller Brandon Jennings when he could to finish with 18 points on 7-8 shooting, while Jordan Hill returned from tooth infection surgery to add 8 points and a team-high +15 on the plus-minus chart in 22 minutes of game time. In his third game back from injury, rookie Myles Turner also had 4 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in 10 minutes.
Now the Pacers stand at 19-14, good for 6th in the East, half a game behind Miami and half a game in front of Orlando. Their next two games? You guessed it — on the road against Miami and then Orlando. Fortunately, it’s not a back-to-back.
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