LA Clippers star Paul George has been raked over the coals for poor playoff performances, so don’t forget to credit him for a huge Game 3.
In sports, you’re only as good as your latest performance. If that’s the case, then Paul George is worthy of the Playoff P nickname.
George hasn’t completely shed his reputation as Pandemic P from last year’s playoff disaster. He’s been slaughtered for every poor postseason performance he’s put in.
So, it’s only fair to give the man credit. When the LA Clippers needed him to come up big in Game 3 against the Utah Jazz, he absolutely did it.
Paul George stepped up when the Clippers faced a do-or-die Game 3
All the positive momentum Los Angeles built up in closing out the Dallas Mavericks in the first round came to a sudden halt when they got to Utah. They lost the first two games of the series against the Jazz and found themselves once again in a 2-0 hole.
George had 20 points in Game 1, but his 4-of-17 shooting (23.5 percent) crippled the Clippers. He bounced back with a 27-point outing in Game 2, but LA still lost.
A loss in Game 3 would have essentially spelled the end for the Clippers’ postseason. Sure, they might have been able to engineer an epic comeback, but the likelihood of that would have been extremely slim.
George and Kawhi Leonard didn’t let it come to that.
Leonard got the headlines with 34 points, but George had as much to do with the 132-106 victory as anyone. He scored 31 points while hitting six 3-pointers. He also had 5 assists.
Head coach Tyronn Lue gave George credit for setting the tone after the Jazz started the game on an 8-0 run. He didn’t get down. He went out and started hitting shots.
Someone who had only seen the memes and the heckling about George wouldn’t have recognized the player who showed up on Saturday, or most of the games this postseason, to be honest.
If you’re going to lambaste George when he doesn’t show up, don’t forget the moments when he does.