With Kawhi Leonard out indefinitely due to a knee sprain, Paul George channeled his old mindset of being the franchise leader in Indiana and building on his best games and moments on Wednesday nights as a member of the LA Clippers did.
Playing in front of a hostile crowd that has taunted him at every move, George delivered a superstar performance with 37 points, a playoff career-high 16 rebounds and five assists to help the Clippers win 119–111 over the Utah Jazz. for a decisive advance. Game 5 before 18,007 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. The Clippers take the series 3-2 and look to win Friday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
"It was no secret," said George as he had to do without Leonard. "I knew I had to grow up tonight and grow up going forward."
Later, George was asked if it was a "playoff P"—a nickname he coined for himself before Oklahoma City faced Utah in the 2018 postseason.
"Sure," replied George with a smile.
Joining Brooklyn's Kevin Durant as the only two players to get at least 35 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a game, George had just one second straight from reaching the franchise's first Western Conference Finals. Victory is far away. after the weather
And he helped the Clippers do the same without Leonard, the team's best player. Leonard sprained his right knee in the fourth quarter of Game 4 on Monday and was unable to finish the final 4 minutes, 35 seconds of the game.
Head coach Ty Lew said the Clippers are awaiting the results of further tests to see what the timetable is for Leonard's recovery. Leonard originally went to Salt Lake City with the team before returning to Los Angeles.
Leonard informed his teammates late Tuesday that he would be out for Wednesday's game, sources told ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne.
"Oh man, it was a shock," George said of his reaction when he found out. "It was a tough blow. But you know, at the end of the day, we want nothing but the best for Kavi. It's positive; he can get some rest. Hopefully we can stop it. But It's a positive. You know, she's got a new baby here. A lot of positives, a lot of love for her and her family."
In front of a crowd that has no love for him, dating back to a 2018 first-round series between the Thunder and the Jazz, George went on the offensive and remained that way when Utah under an avalanche of 3-pointers Threatened to bury the Clippers. The Jazz drilled 17 of 30 triples by halftime, with Bojan Bogdanovic thwarting his first six attempts in the first quarter alone.
But George hit nine of his first 14 shots and scored 22 points in the first half, and the Clippers followed their All-Star guard.
"He's unbelievable," said point guard Reggie Jackson, who hit several big shots when the Clippers needed him and finished with 22 points. "Paul is special. ... You're going to have critics and critics, but that's what you love about this game. You just have to try to put it behind you."
Jackson said that George "seemed calm" after hearing the news on Leonard.
"It didn't look like it hurt too much," Jackson said. “He was ready to put the team on his back to carry the extra weight, and he showed and proved why he is one of the best players in this league and when he was with us for the entire season he was there for us. Why was it unbelievable... He just kept playing with conviction."
The Clippers were heavily criticized last postseason when they gave Denver a 3–1 lead in the second round. George drew heat to struggle with his shot in last season's bubble, culminating in Game 7, when he shot 4-of-16 for 10 points. He later admitted that he experienced bouts of depression while in the bubble and it affected his mental health and sports.
George was set for a bounce-back year this season and erased last season's bad taste. Lew said George told him before the Wednesday morning shoot, "T, I got us."
"There's a lot of respect for PG," Lew said of George, who played 40 minutes. He said, "Like you can't judge a player's career by what he does in a series. Like I know a lot of great players who have a bad series or a bad game or a bad two games in the series, But whenever their game is bad, they want to make a great deal of it. Whatever it is. You know, just keep playing. Be who you are, and at the end of the day, you know, you You can live with the results."
George has silenced even his most vocal critics. He has scored 30 or more points in three straight games. Utah's scorching shoot eventually calmed down in the third quarter, but the Jazz scored the final run and reduced their 10-point deficit to 110-106 with two minutes remaining. George responded by burying a 19-foot jumper during a foul. He converted a three-point game and hit two late free throws to seal the win.
According to data from ESPN Stats & Information, George shot 12-in-22 overall, with only one field goal attempt going uncontested. He helped the Jazz catch up in shooting 4-of-13 and made forced turnovers as the primary defender.
If he can maintain his recent tear in this series and continue his old mindset when he was a franchise player for the Indiana Pacers, George has the chance to take the Clippers to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in his 50 seasons. have a chance. - Most games played by a team without reaching the league's final playoff round among active NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL franchises, according to ESPN Stats and Information Research.
"I've been in Indiana where I had to lead a franchise," George said of leading without Leonard. "The beauty here is that I've got to do what is one of the best in the world in Kavi. Now Kavi is down. It was just this mentality to come back to Indy, set the tone and come out and have a ball. was to lead the club.
"That's really the mindset I came out with. It wasn't anything I had to prove. It wasn't anything that I had to wonder about myself. I just dug a place where I was already I'm in my career, and it just came down to faith. Everyone just allowed me to lead and they kept pushing me. They put me in a great mental place."