After years of criticism in the postseason, Paul George just proved emphatically how dominant he can be in the postseason.
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The Los Angeles Clippers live to play another day, thanks to Paul George. With their back against the wall and facing elimination for the third time this postseason in Game 5, the Clippers showed that they weren’t ready for their season to end. They pulled out an impressive 116-102 win over the Phoenix Suns. With the win, the Clippers then forced a Game 6, which will go down on Wednesday at Staples Center.
Total team effort.
? @honey highlights from a big Game 5 win. pic.twitter.com/LlOxH123Ch
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 29, 2021
Paul George once again led the way for the Clippers as he poured in a playoff career-high 41 points, along with 13 rebounds and six assists. Thus, he became the first-ever Clipper with a 40/10/5 playoff performance. George has now scored at least 20 points in all 18 games he’s played in this postseason so far. He became just the fourth player to open a postseason with a 20-plus-point streak that long. The other three players are Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.
Paul George has 20 points in all 18 games this postseason.
He’s the 4th player to open a postseason with a streak that long:
Michael Jordan (1992, 1997-98)
Kevin Durant (2012, 2018)
Kobe Bryant (2008)
Paul George (2021) pic.twitter.com/YGQwA6K6T8— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 29, 2021
Paul also got some serious help from Marcus Morris, DeMarcus Cousins and Reggie Jackson. That trio combined for 60 points and 10 rebounds. He never scored 40 in a playoff game entering Monday, nor did he reach 30 once in his legendary career.
No single game could better encapsulate everything great about Paul George. But the one he just played against the Phoenix Suns just proved emphatically how dominant he can be in the postseason.
Less than a year ago, he became a laughingstock by hitting the side of the backboard in a Game 7 as his Clippers blew a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets. The Clippers entered Monday on the other side of the 3-1 equation, one loss away from elimination, and George answered with an unreal stat sheet.
Carrying the Clippers over the top without Kawhi Leonard would be one of the most remarkable achievements in NBA history. It’s something that nobody could ever reasonably ask of George to do.
Even if he never wins a championship, he played a championship-caliber game on Monday and gave his career a signature it never previously had.
On the other side of the floor, Devin Booker paced the Suns with 31 points, four rebounds and three assists. Chris Paul added 22 points and eight assists. Ultimately, though, their production wasn’t enough to seal the series.
