Paul George the Superstar Is Back and Friday NBA Takeaways
Welcome back, Paul George.
The Indiana Pacers forward came into his team's 90-87 victory over the Miami Heat averaging 18.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists—albeit in fairly inefficient fashion. But the superstar didn't truly return until this standout showing in a nationally televised affair.
To be clear, the Heat's defense has been stellar throughout the year, entering Friday night with one of the NBA's 10 best defensive ratings. And it was quite good once more, holding nearly every member of the Indiana roster to a lackluster line.
But not George.
Wearing the Hickory jersey that paid homage to Hoosiers and buoyed by both a scorching third quarter and plenty of big buckets down the stretch, George had his first truly outstanding effort since the devastating broken leg he suffered with Team USA last summer. Not only did he lead his Pacers to victory, becoming the first player this season to break past the 30-point benchmark against Miami, but he did so while recording 36 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block.
How ridiculous is that? Well, including both the current campaign and the 2014-15 season, only one player managed to match those numbers while making more shots than he missed, as George did by going 14-of-27 from the field: James Harden, last year's MVP runner-up.
This millennium, just nine players have managed to join that club:
- James Harden
- Dwight Howard
- LeBron James (three times)
- Al Jefferson
- Brad Miller
- Shaquille O'Neal
- Dirk Nowitzki
- Glenn Robinson
- Chris Webber (three times)
Good luck finding a lackluster contributor among that group. And if you're about to bring up Brad Miller, keep in mind that he posted that line in 2005, shortly after his back-to-back All-Star appearances for the Pacers and Sacramento Kings.
That's the class George apparently belongs in once again.
Though we have to tell ourselves it's only a single game during a long regular season, this is exactly what everyone has been waiting to see from a player who was ascending toward the top of the individual hierarchy before his brutal setback. This was the type of confidence we wanted to witness, as George didn't hesitate to take big shots down the stretch of a tight contest and tended to rip the twine rather than draw iron.
Even though George has a distinct size advantage on Mario Chalmers, that was not an easy shot. No fallaway jumper starting from a back-to-the-basket position ever is, especially while drawing enough contact to earn a subsequent attempt from the charity stripe.
Justise Winslow, the Heat's stud rookie, matched up against George for much of the night, and he didn't stand a chance. The former Duke standout has looked impressive on the less glamorous end throughout the opening salvo of his first professional campaign, but he was no match for a locked-in George who knocked down nine of his 13 mid-range attempts.
Even when the Heat threw an extra defender at him, No. 13 didn't care. As Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley pointed out, one of his biggest shots of the night came when he pulled up for a mid-range jumper over the outstretched arms of Hassan Whiteside, who swatted four shots in 33 minutes of action:
With 8:14 remaining in the fourth quarter, the score was 78-74 in the Heat's favor, and George grabbed an offensive rebound when Chris Bosh swatted away a putback attempt from Jordan Hill. That board led not only to the aforementioned fadeaway and-1 jumper against Chalmers but also to a massive run in which the Pacers couldn't score without him directly involved.
With 1:04 left on the clock, Indiana had taken an 86-84 lead after a pair of free throws from George, grabbing a lead it would never relinquish. The forward had scored 10 of his team's 12 points, with the only other two coming on a Glenn Robinson III layup that he assisted.
That's the very definition of taking over a game, and it's something few players do when they aren't established superstars or striving to reach that status.
Though it's always tough to draw conclusions from just a single outing, it sure feels like it's time to bestow that celestial title upon a player who had already claimed it prior to his major injury.
And Then There Was One
Heading into Friday night, the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors were the lone unbeaten teams remaining, but only one would make it through the action without experiencing its first blemish. While the Warriors took care of business against the severely overmatched Denver Nuggets, the Canadian representatives fell to the feisty Orlando Magic.
Orlando entered the contest with a 1-4 record, but it is no mere pushover. Before the 92-87 victory, the Magic had emerged victoriously against the New Orleans Pelicans and dropped outings against the Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder (in a memorable double-overtime affair), Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets by a combined 14 points.
That's hardly a resume to sniff at, even if it's nearly devoid of W's.
As we've seen so many times before, Victor Oladipo was a stud down the stretch, finishing with 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals on 7-of-14 shooting from the field. Tobias Harris fell one rebound shy of a 20/10 outing (highlighted by the slam below), while everyone seemed to chip in and cover for a scoreless night from Elfrid Payton.
On the other side, it's hard to find too many faults, even though DeMarre Carroll struggled mightily with his shooting stroke.
It was a competitive affair between two motivated teams, and the biggest names were largely up to the challenge. DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry combined for 40 points on 31 shots, Jonas Valanciunas logged 14 rebounds, and Cory Joseph exploded off the bench for 19 points—one shy of his career high.
Poor shooting and a spotty showing from the bench—outside Joseph, of course—ultimately doomed the Raptors, but let's not forget where they stand. While the Magic look improved enough to make a convincing playoff push, Toronto still figures to be right in the thick of the competition for a top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Golden State Remains, Well, Golden
Six up, six down.
The Warriors just keep on rolling, with the Denver Nuggets serving as the latest sacrificial victim of the NBA schedule.
Despite the final margin of "just" 15 points, this game wasn't nearly as close as the box score might indicate. Golden State's second unit let Will Barton and Jameer Nelson lead a furious comeback after the Nuggets were down by as much as 26 points near the end of the third quarter, but the outcome was never truly in doubt.
As always, Stephen Curry was the leading man for the Warriors, logging 34 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and one block. He went 12-of-22 from the field and nailed eight triples, six of which came during the first half.
But this wasn't just the Curry show. Far from it, as ball movement ruled the day in Oracle Arena.
During the first half, the Dubs knocked down 30 shots from the field, and a ridiculous 28 of them were assisted. Draymond Green is just as surprised as you by that remarkable stat:
All night, the Warriors made the extra pass as they racked up 119 points. They turned down good looks for great ones. Hell, they even declined great ones for shots they couldn't possibly miss from the corners.
Dunks, too:
When the final buzzer sounded, Golden State had recorded a staggering 40 assists on 46 makes.
Good luck competing with that. It might be a long while before the Warriors drop a game.
First Anthony Davis Alert of the Year
The Atlanta Hawks surely didn't expect to bite their nails after opening up a 52-39 lead late in the second quarter and retreating to the locker rooms of the Smoothie King Center with a double-digit halftime advantage. Had you told them Kyle Korver would record 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block without missing a shot from the field or at the charity stripe while five other players scored in double figures, they probably wouldn't have thought they'd need to sweat out a narrow win.
But Anthony Davis made it so.
Though the unibrowed big man couldn't quite do enough to lift the reeling—and still winless—New Orleans Pelicans to anything more than a 121-115 loss, he still flat-out exploded during the second half. Single-handedly pulling his team back into the contest, Davis finished with a mind-numbing 43 points (tied for his career high), 10 rebounds, three assists, four steals and three blocks.
Because that obviously wasn't enough, he went 14-of-23 from the field, knocked down his only three-point attempt of the game and converted 14 of his 16 looks from the free-throw line. It's as complete a line as you'll possibly find, as he teased us with hints of an ultra-elusive five-by-five and simultaneously kept the scoreboard operator ridiculously busy.
There were alley-oop slams:
There were spins leading to and-1 buckets:
There were fast-break heroics:
Even without all the highlights factored in, the line posted by the NOLA big man stands out as one that few players have matched. Prior to Davis playing hero on Friday night, David Robinson was the only man since 1985-86 with at least as many points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in a single game.
If you wanted to, you could certainly say this was an Admiral-ble achievement.
Other Stars Standing Out
When you play the Philadelphia 76ers, you're supposed to take care of business.
That's exactly what LeBron James did during the third quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 108-102 victory, propelling his team into the lead with an 18-point barrage. He finished the night with 31 points and 13 assists (both season highs) to go along with four rebounds and a pair of steals while helping his team get to 5-1 on the year.
When you play the DeMarcus Cousins-less Sacramento Kings, you're supposed to take care of business.
That's exactly what James Harden did, dominating from start to finish with a vintage, MVP-caliber performance. The bearded shooting guard wound up with 43 points (a season high), six boards, 13 dimes and two steals during the 116-110 victory. After struggling during his first few contests, Harden now appears to be getting back on track and giving fans prolonged glimpses of the player they expected to take the court throughout the entire 2015-16 campaign.
The opponents might have been weak, but this is exactly what we wanted to see from these marquee players. Surely, there will be more to come in the future.
Boston's Offensive Party
The Boston Celtics offense was on a mission against a typically stout Washington Wizards defense, logging 118 big ones in a 20-point victory so out of hand they took their foot off the proverbial gas pedal down the stretch.
Isaiah Thomas, despite matching up against John Wall's pestilent defense throughout the night, finished with 16 points and eight dimes. But no play was more notable than his vicious crossover of Ramon Sessions—a quick move that left the veteran guard scrambling as Thomas took advantage of the open space between him and the hoop:
Kelly Olynyk and Evan Turner chipped in with 19 and 16 off the pine, respectively, but this night still belonged to Jared Sullinger. His strong start to the 2015-16 campaign continued as he showed off his improved shooting stroke throughout the first half and picked up where he left off after a post-halftime injury scare.
The Ohio State product finished with 21 points—more than anyone not named Bradley Beal—to go along with eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks. He knocked down nine of his 13 looks from the field, added three triples in four attempts and wasn't afraid to get down and dirty:
That pass is not easy to make from a seated position, but Sullinger made it look effortless, just as he did with so many other plays throughout the night.
If the big man keeps playing like this, he'll make head coach Brad Stevens' head spin a bit less as he figures out how to deploy the many frontcourt weapons in the Boston arsenal.
Welcome Back, Jabari Parker
If you like young players, you probably loved the Milwaukee Bucks' 99-92 victory over the New York Knicks.
John Henson was the star of the affair, coming off the bench and knocking down eight of his 12 looks en route to a line of 22 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and three blocks. Giannis Antetokounmpo kept rolling with a stat-stuffing night that included 20 points and seven boards. Khris Middleton got in on the action with a baker's dozen, while Johnny O'Bryant stood out when he was freed from the pine.
Even on the losing side, a developing prospect caught fire.
Kristaps Porzingis continued his mastery of the putback slam, finishing with an impressive 14 points and 13 rebounds that were highlighted by the flushes above and below. At this point, every fan who booed him when Adam Silver announced New York's first selection in the 2015 NBA draft is probably refusing to claim his or her jeers.
For most of the night, Jabari Parker faded into the background, still attempting to return to the level he was at before tearing his ACL halfway through his rookie season.
Devoid of consistent playing time and a featured role in the offense, he scored only six points in the Milwaukee victory. But two of them were quite memorable:
In the grand scheme of things, that bucket wasn't all that significant. But for a player who is working his way back from such a devastating injury, it sure had to feel good.
Let's allow him to bask in the moment.
Battle of the Worst
If they didn't have to play each other, there's no telling how long the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers would've both stayed in the zero-victory club. But play each other they did, and now the Nets, Pelicans and Philadelphia 76ers are the only squads left without a win.
To be clear, this was not an aesthetically pleasing game. We knew that would be the case after the Nets somehow managed to have four different starters turn the ball over on their first four possessions.
Eventually, the Lakers emerged with a six-point edge, but it should be pretty telling that Kobe Bryant was the leading scorer (18 points) despite shooting only 5-of-16 from the field. Jordan Clarkson, D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle all had significantly more impressive performances, which should undoubtedly be viewed as a positive for the purple and gold.
Now, as Los Angeles celebrates its first successful outing of the 2015-16 campaign, when will Brooklyn get off the schneid?
All stats, unless otherwise indicated, come from Basketball-Reference.com.
Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @fromal09.
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