Thunder gores Bulls
George on target, scores 24 as Thunder routs Bulls
OKC led Chicago by 20 most of the game, winning 121-96.
With the clock dwindling at the end of the second quarter, Paul George powered through contact to score again. It was Point No. 15 in less than five minutes.
So strong was the move by George, Russell Westbrook couldn’t help but flex.
With a team-high 24 points Monday, George flexed his scoring efficiency to blow wide open the Thunder’s 121-96 win against Chicago.
In George’s explosive second quarter, a two-point Thunder lead exploded to 20 in 5½ minutes.
Of the 25 points the Thunder scored in that stretch to close the first half, George had 16.
“I thought he was unbelievable tonight and he had an incredible first half,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said.
The wildest part was there wasn’t much of a doubt around George’s shots going in. From a court-level vantage point, every shot George hoisted in the second quarter looked on line, whether the All-Star had time to shoot or mere seconds.
On one possession in an 11-point game, Steven Adams mishandled George’s entry pass, the ball bouncing off his shoulder and head, before he corralled it and passed back to George. On the right wing, George had the ball for maybe two seconds before flicking a 3-pointer over tight Bulls coverage.
George didn’t miss in the second quarter, shooting 6-of-6.
Scoring efficiently has been George’s forte through 29 games. George has led the Thunder in scoring 17 times this season. Russell Westbrook has missed eight games, but George has been top scorer for the Thunder in 10 of the 21 games he’s played with Westbrook.
His burst Monday was the continuation of what’s been a brilliant month — per game averages of 28.5 points, eight rebounds and 4.4 assists, including 44.1 percent from 3-point range.
Yet Donovan was just as impressed with George’s scoreless third quarter, a measure of the impact the All-Star has had in his second season in Oklahoma City.
“Here he goes crazy on that run in the first half ... they elect to trap him in the second half. What does he do? He just facilitates. He gets other guys involved,” Donovan said.
“It speaks to his greatness. He could have had a bigger scoring night, but I thought his playmaking, his facilitating and reading the game was really positive for us.”
The only way for Chicago to stop George was to derail the pace of the game.
In the third quarter, George missed all six of his shots. The quarter had no rhythm thanks to a couple of skirmishes between the Thunder and the frustrated Bulls. Five technical fouls were assessed, including two to Bulls center Robin Lopez that led to his ejection. After halftime, the Bulls were also sending two players to George, desperate to get the ball out of his hands.
That didn’t bother him in the blowout.
“Yeah, we won by 30,” George said when asked if he was OK with the second-half pressure. George was content with the result despite his scoreless second half.
“I did my work early.”