PHOENIX — After scoring a playoff career-high 41 points over seven different Phoenix Suns defenders to help the LA Clippers avoid elimination, Paul George scored a well-deserved time with 1:14 remaining in Monday night's Game 5. When he was welcomed. A row of Clippers coaches are all congratulating them one by one.
In the end, Tyronn Lue was the last to be hand-slapped with the All-Star before uttering a few words, which the Clippers head coach says he can't share.
"Too many MFs," George said of what Lew told him. "And cry it out and let it go to sleep."
After missing two crucial late free throws in a Game 2 loss to LA, George returned and silenced the Phoenix Suns Arena with his fine playoff performance. George scored 15 of 20 shots and scored 41 points to go with 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals to send the Clippers back to Los Angeles for Game 6 on Monday night with a 116-102 win.
The Clippers, the only team to pull off a 2–0 deficit twice in the same postseason, are now 3–2 behind in the Western Conference Finals. They can force Game 7 with a win on Wednesday at Staples Center.
They probably wouldn't even be playing if it weren't for George. Lew said he doesn't understand why his star guard's struggles "get so high when he doesn't play well"—such as after Game 2, when George took two free throws with the Clippers to keep the Suns from winning. One point late a last-second Deandre Ayton alley-oop.
George was asked after Monday's game if he felt he was picked more than other NBA stars when things got bad.
"I do," replied George. "And that's the honest truth. It's a fact. But I can't worry about it. It comes with a job, I guess. ... I still try to let go and dominate. . .. .And so I am beyond that, you know what I mean. I am what I am. I wish I could shoot 80%, 75% at night, but that's not realistic."
"I can do everything I can," he said. "They can judge me on what they want. That part doesn't matter to me. I'm going to go out there and circle and give me everything I've got."
Without already injured Kawhi Leonard (sprained right knee), the Clippers learned that starting center Ivica Zubaik (sprained right MCL) would also be out on Monday. Lew said the Clippers were feeling confident in their morning shootaround, but the player was saddened by the news about Zuback, playing his best basketball, three straight before injuring his knee in the second half of Game 4. Was logging double-double in the game. .
Marcus Morris Sr., starting from center, had his best game of the series, hitting his first six shots and scoring 13 of his 22 points in the first quarter. The Clippers took a 20-5 lead in the opening minutes itself. According to Lew, this allowed George to feel his way in the sport.
In the third quarter, Chris Paul hit a 16-footer, giving the Sons a 62-61 lead, with 8:27 to spare. But after that George scored 18 out of his 20. He made 7 of 8 shots and buried 3 of 3 in the quarter to send the Clippers to 13 in the quarter.
"I don't know where this trolling bull came from---where the internet controls the narratives about these players," said DeMarcus Cousins, who scored 15 points in 11 minutes off the bench. "It's getting silly, man. Like I said earlier in the year, [George is] one of the most special players to lace up his shoes.
"Give this dude his flowers, man. I don't understand the slander. It's getting silly enough now. Respect these players, man. Respect these greats."
In the fourth quarter, the Sons scored another run, making the loss 98–94 with 6:58 remaining. But as he has done this entire season, Reggie Jackson (23 points) hit a timely and clutch shot for the Clippers. Jackson drilled two 3-pointers and threw down a dunk from a fast break initiated by a George steal. George scored six more points as the Clippers used a 14-2 run to steal Game 5 on the road.
Later, the Clippers were discussing George's performance as he shot 10-of-14 on competitive shots. According to ESPN Stats and Information Research, he did a lot of his damage on pull-ups, going 7-for-10 on those shots. And he scored on seven other primary Sun defenders.
"If they were going to end this series, they would have to work for it," George said. "That was the mindset we came into it with. We weren't going to back down. We weren't just going to throw in the towel. The truth of the matter is, they have to beat us."