George leads Thunder past Clippers
Thunder forward Paul George nodded at Dennis Schroder. George had his feet planted as Clippers guard Patrick Beverley backed up on him, and Schroder scanned his options for the inbound pass. George nodded again. Schroder listened.
The point guard tossed George the ball over Beverley, and almost immediately Beverley was called for a foul.
He threw his hands up, and beelined toward official Natalie Sago, arguing the whole time George methodically took free throws behind him. Eventually Sago hand enough and issued Beverley a technical. There was another free throw for George.
George was in control. OKC weathered iffy first half perimeter defense and shooting to beat the Clippers 110-104 on the back of George’s 33 points.
The Thunder (1810) bounced back from back-to-back losses to the Pelicans and Nuggets to take down the roadworn Clippers team (1712) at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Saturday, even as Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook struggled at the rim.
George, who finished the night with seven rebounds and six assists, ended the night just as controlled as he started it.
In the corner, surrounded by Clippers jerseys, with the final seconds of the game quickly falling off the clock, George pivoted back and forth. He bounced a pass beyond their reach to Jerami Grant, who scored the Thunder’s last points of the night.
“I’m fine being trapped,’ George said. “That’s where we need our guys the most for them to make plays out of it. Honestly, I think that’s the easiest way for me to get myself going because I make those plays early and we burn them, we hurt them on those plays.”
By then, Westbrook had worked his way up to just a rebound shy of a triple-double (13 points, 9 rebounds, 12 assists), and passed Kobe Bryant on the all-time assists list to move up to No. 30.
But as Westbrook worked things out in the first half, George took it upon himself to score 21 points.
Westbrook seemed as perplexed by his scoring drought as anyone. Late in the second quarter he stood alone in the backcourt as Steven Adams stepped up to the line to take free throws.
Westbrook tugged at his right arm sleeve. He took long, slow breaths.
After the game he said there was nothing he had to adjust to, to finish at the rim, “Just got to make them, concentrate. It’s getting there.”
Two possessions later Westbrook would score his first points of the game, knocking down a wing 3-point shot just over two minutes before halftime.
He remained straightfaced as he held the follow through for a moment before dropping it and jogging back on defense. No need to celebrate improving to 1-of-8 from the field in the first half.
On the other end of the floor, Westbrook grabbed his fourth steal of the night — he would finish the night with six. He pounded the ball into the ground as he dribbled beyond the 3-point line, threatening to drive to the rim.
But then he didn’t. He slung the ball out to George, who drew two Clippers players before hitting Jerami Grant on a roll to the basket. The Thunder took an 11-point lead, the Thunder’s largest in the first half.
Westbrook continued to miss layups as the game progressed, but he caught fire from 3-point range, splashing his first three attempts and going 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
“Talking my time, getting my feet set and just following through, taking the open ones,” Westbrook said of what was working for him from the 3-point line.
Two of those came off passes by George.
“We lost two straight, and it was good for us to come home and get one,” George said.
“That was big for us.”