PAUL NIGHT LONG
George makes eight 3s, scores 36 as the Thunder takes opener
Paul George backs up talk of ‘Playoff P’
Even with Utah scrapping its initial defensive plan, Paul George’s individual brilliance was too much. Able to get isolated against Utah’s Royce O’Neale in the third quarter, George splashed another 3-pointer, screaming “can’t guard me!” while running down the floor, barking into the crowd the entire way.
It was a storybook start to George’s first Thunder playoff experience, a 116-108 win against Utah in Game 1 of the Western Conference.
Correction: It was a storybook start to “Playoff P’s” first playoff experience. When Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony sat down at the podium in postgame, they chuckled at a reporter calling George the nickname.
“That’s his name now?” Anthony asked with a big smile as West-
brook doubled over.
Don’t laugh. George gave himself the moniker a day before the Thunder’s win, but it was totally accurate ... at least after OKC took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
George had a gamehigh 36 points and hit 13-of-20 shots, many of which came with the two-way terror operating with a swagger rarely seen post-All-Star break. George went home to Los Angeles for the weekend in mid-February for the All-Star Game, but first there was a 3-Point Contest in which he finished last with only nine 3-pointers.
He tied a Thunder franchise record with eight 3-pointers on Sunday.
“Hopefully he doesn’t go 8-of-11 the rest of the series,” Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell said. “We play great defense and we’re proud of that.”
If Game 1 is any indication, you can take George’s word for it: He’s a better player once the lights come on.
The playoffs are a different arena. In a physical contest, George came out of a timeout with 8:50 left in the third quarter rotating in place, legs shoulder length apart. George re-aggravated a right hip contusion he picked up against Atlanta in March, but carried on.
Chalk it up to the physicality. The Jazz were the No. 2 defense in the NBA in the regular-season, and they tried to batter George the best they could as he curled tightly off Steven Adams’ screens only to still hit off-balance 3-point shots.
But in one instance, George had all night to shoot. He had so much time, he thought about driving, dipping his right toe in the water just above the 3-point line. He had time to draw it back when he saw Utah’s Joe Ingles laid out on the Chesapeake Energy Arena floor. Ingles couldn’t help he’d just been pulverized by an Adams screen.
The Jazz couldn’t help that George was nailing 3-pointers off every imaginable shot type and he was creating off double teams.
Echoing Mitchell, Jazz coach Quin Snyder wasn’t disappointed in Utah’s coverage of George.
“Steven Adams is a good screener, and I thought we were connected to him (George),” Snyder said. “We changed up what we were doing and he went to something else.”
Often, George’s individual brilliance was too much. He was able to get isolated against Utah’s Royce O’Neale in the third quarter and screamed “can’t guard me,” streaking down the floor after his seventh 3-pointer.
But when the Jazz’s double teams became more aggressive to start the fourth quarter, George worked around them. George didn’t take a shot in the final 6:23 with the Thunder ahead by 12 points, but he did damage to get the OKC there in the first stanza of the fourth.
Acting as facilitator, George didn’t record an assist Sunday, but played the creator when defenders converged. His pass to Jerami Grant led to an Alex Abrines 3-pointer and the Thunder’s first double-digit lead of the game.
So, when Anthony and Westbrook finally gathered themselves at the podium, Westbrook delivered serious praise in honor of George’s playoff persona.
“When he’s aggressive, it changes the game for us as you’ve seen tonight,” Westbrook said. “Like Melo said, he had it going. Our job is to find him, make it easy for him.
“As long as he stays aggressive, miss or make, we’re a better team.”