George rebounds from tough loss
Paul George bounced back from a subpar contest and used it for motivation as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers to avoid what would have been a season-first in back-to-back losses.
George drained a season-high eight threes en route to 36 points as the Clippers crushed the Cavaliers 121-99 to remain the only team in the NBA not to have lost consecutive games. Last Tuesday, George was a monumental bust as the Clippers couldn’t handle the trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving and lost to host Brooklyn, 124-120, for just their second defeat in the last dozen contests. George doesn’t dwell on bad games but rather looks at them as an opportunity to learn about himself and improve his skills. “Last night was great preparation for tonight,” said George, who made eight-of-nine attempts from beyond the arc. “I did a bad job of shooting my shots. I told myself if I get the same looks, I am going to knock it down. My teammates did a great job of looking for me, they set me up and screened for me.”
Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points and Croatia’s Ivica Zubac delivered 10 points and 16 rebounds off the bench for the Clippers, who finished 4-2 on the road trip.
In Milwaukee, twotime reigning NBA most valuable player Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered a triple-double of 21 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists to fuel the Bucks’ 130-110 rout of the Indiana Pacers.
Also, Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway combined to score 73 points to help the visiting Dallas Mavericks snap a six-game losing streak with a 122-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks .
Doncic scored 27 points, his eighth straight game with 25-plus points, and posted his 11th doubledouble with eight rebounds and 14 assists. Porzingis tallied 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Hardaway came off the bench to score 22.