George clutch for Clips

Paul George hit a go-ahead shot with 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter to lift the Clippers to a 90-88 win over his former Oklahoma City Thunder team on Monday night. The shot wasn’t only significant because it came against the team he forced himself away from in a trade over the summer — it was the same shot he’d struggled with in previous years.

George had never historically been considered clutch, and for good reason: Prior to the start of the 2018-19 season, he was 1for-12 on go-ahead threes in the final 30 seconds of regulation or in overtime. His crunch-time performances were so cringe-worthy, his heavily-syndicated Gatorade commercial — where he calls “ball game” before hitting a clutch three — seemed more like a joke.

But over the past two seasons, no one hit more clutch threes than Playoff P. George had — four goahead threes in the final 30 seconds of regulation or in overtime, which according to ESPN Stats & Info, is twice as many as any player in that time span. He has proved he can come up big when the team needs him most.

That’s great news for the Clippers, and terrible news for the rest of the league.

The Clippers, of course, already have Kawhi Leonard, the best two-way player in basketball. Pairing Leonard and George was thought to be even more of a defensive nightmare (for opposing teams), given both have shutdown ability at positions one through four.

Now, George has decided it’s time to pick up where he left off last season as a pressure performer, alongside a player like Leonard, who has hit pressure shots left and right. (Like the one he hit in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers.)