MY ACCOUNT
Paul George believes the only way is up for the Los Angeles Clippers after he turned on the style in Monday night’s clash with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Clippers had lost four of their opening five games but snatched victory from the brink of defeat as they clinched a 99-94 victory.
George had topped 40 points twice early in the season, and this time his 32-point haul came in tandem with four team-mates also hitting double figures.
After making just one of nine shots from the field in the first half, George hit 10 of 15 in the second.
“It’s my job to go out there and play hard,” George said in a post-game news conference. “My team needed me and I just tried to step up for them.”
The Clippers turned a 91-82 deficit into a 95-92 lead as Reggie Jackson landed a jump shot that clinched the game, earning an embrace from George.
After a rocky run of form, George is hoping this outcome means the Clippers might be turning a corner.
“I just told him this is the worst that the team can shoot – obviously we could shoot worse than this, but in the real picture this is the worst we can shoot,” George said.
“That shot can change [Jackson’s] rhythm. That shot right there was really the biggest shot of the night. That could be all the confidence he needs going into the next game to make a shot when we needed him to.
“It was a great moment for me and him. We’ve both been struggling tonight so to end the game on that note was a good moment.”
Coach Tyronn Lue hailed the “miraculous shots” from George, while Nicolas Batum enjoyed the “ugly win”.
Batum, who finished with 14 points, was relieved to see the Clippers find their stride.
“I’ve never seen that before, the whole team getting cold for five games,” said the French forward. “The thing is, we’re not playing that bad actually.
“We keep playing defense, trying to move the ball, trying to find a way, but we just don’t make shots, but we kept fighting, we kept grinding.
“It was just finding a way to win a game tonight. We didn’t lose confidence. PG [George] was great in the second half and took us home.
“It was an ugly win, but I’d take an ugly win compared to beautiful losses.”
Assessing another standout display from George, Batum said: “We’ve got to help him out. The last game [a 111-92 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers] was unacceptable as a team.
“He got 42 and he got 50 per cent of the points. We’ve got four guys in double figures tonight and that’s how we have to do it every night. We can’t rely on him to get 30-40 points every night.”
