Whether he was sinking his shots or orchestrating the offense, Paul George displayed impeccable decision-making skills on Thursday night, much to the delight of the Clippers. Los Angeles certainly wouldn’t mind seeing more of that.
George drained six 3-pointers en route to scoring 28 points, while Kawhi Leonard contributed 27 points as the Clippers secured a 126-111 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Despite holding a 20-point lead late in the third quarter, Los Angeles had to weather a late surge from the Bulls, who trimmed the deficit to eight points in the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, the Clippers managed to halt a two-game losing streak and emerged victorious for the second time in six days against Chicago.
Both teams were without key players, with James Harden sidelined for the Clippers due to a strained left shoulder and Coby White out for the Bulls with a sore right hip. Nevertheless, George and Leonard rose to the occasion, leading the Clippers to victory.
“We talk about the last 20 games, putting the ball back in PG’s hands so he can get used to it so when we get to the playoffs we know exactly what we want to do,” coach Tyronn Lue remarked. “Now, he’s just getting accustomed to running more pick-and-rolls and keeping the ball in his hands.”
George was nearly flawless from the field, connecting on 11 of 12 shots and hitting 6 of 7 from beyond the arc. The Clippers as a team were on fire from long range, making 20 of 40 attempts. In addition to his scoring prowess, George dished out seven assists and committed just one turnover, despite facing double teams from the Bulls alongside Leonard.
“It was just staying under control, playing through our teammates and I think just taking what they gave us,” George explained. “I didn’t think we were out of the norm, we weren’t out of character, we kind of just played our style, slowed the game down for ourselves, and took the shots that were available.”
Meanwhile, Leonard, who battled back spasms in the previous game, delivered an efficient performance, making 12 of 17 shots.
Norman Powell contributed 18 points, while Bones Hyland provided a spark off the bench with 17 points and a career-high 11 assists, along with four steals.
For the Bulls, DeMar DeRozan led the way with 21 points, followed by Nikola Vucevic with 19 points. Despite the loss, coach Billy Donovan expressed relief that Coby White’s injury was not severe, describing him as day-to-day after undergoing imaging that revealed no serious damage.
