The Los Angeles Clippers' NBA title push took a major hit on Tuesday night as All-Star guard Paul George appeared to suffer a significant leg injury in their 101-100 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
George came off worse in a tussle for a rebound with Lu Dort and sunk to the floor late in the fourth quarter of the contest. The 32-year-old, alongside star man Kawhi Leonard, had been ramping up for a play-off push that could now be in disarray with the sight of a stricken George being carted away from the Crypto.com Arena with his right leg extended.
Information was scarce after the game, but it has now been confirmed he will be out for at least two weeks, and is therefore likely to miss the remainder of the season. Head coach Ty Lue admitted to being in the dark on George’s condition post game.
"[George is] still being evaluated right now," Lue said. "But I did see [the replay of the injury]. I didn't even know it looked like that until [an assistant coach] just showed me, so I didn't even know [what happened]."
After a sorry run of form post-All-Star break, the Clippers had recovered to rise to fifth in the Western Conference by going on a 5-1 run in their last six games before last night. Their upturn in form has best been highlighted by the dominance of Leonard, who has reasserted himself as one of the NBA’s best players with averages of 29.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his ten games since the break.
Though Leonard’s splits were slightly down in Tuesday’s defeat to the Thunder, he still chipped in with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists in a costly loss that could have wider implications for their season.
The two-time MVP Finals MVP will likely have to carry an even greater offence load in the coming games but remained tight-lipped when speaking to reporters post-match on how the Clippers will adjust saying: "We'll see. We got a group of guys that still want to win, that like to play basketball, so we'll see what happens.”
In the third quarter of the game George threw down a stunning 360-degree spinning dunk which bolstered his 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists stat line score before leaving the contest. The Clippers will be desperate for a positive prognosis after defeat saw them fall to a 38-35 record in a precarious Western Conference.
The California outfit have a one-game advantage over the Golden State Warriors, with half-a-game separating their state rivals and the number seven seeded Thunder. Six of the Clippers’ final ten games are at home, including four consecutive match-ups that began with Tuesday night’s loss.
