INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Paul George continued to dominate his former team by scoring 36 points on Tuesday night and leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 126-115 victory at Indiana.
The Clippers have won six straight.
George also had seven rebounds and eight assists and is 4-0 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse since being traded by the Pacers to Oklahoma City in July 2017. He has topped the 30-point mark in each of the Clippers’ last four games, the last two without All-Star teammate Kawhi Leonard, who sat out with a sore right foot.
“That’s what we’ve got to do,” he said. “It’s just how we’ve got to play. That’s just how we’ve got to finish.”
George heard boos during pregame introductions and jeers throughout the game in a mostly empty arena. He’s been through it before but has now won twice in Indianapolis with the Thunder, by margins of five and eight points, and twice with the Clippers, both by 11-point margins.
George’s big night was no surprise to coach Tyronn Lue.
“I think Paul is taking what the defense is giving him,” Lue said. “In the second half, he was making the right pass, the right plays, just taking what the defense is giving him — slowing it down, getting to the right spots to operate.”
Indiana was led by Malcolm Brogdon’s 29 points. Caris LeVert scored 26 as the Pacers snapped a three-game losing streak.
It sure didn’t look as if the game would be lopsided after a topsy-turvy first half, which included a 15-point first quarter from George amid a chorus of boos as the Clippers led 67-65. And Los Angeles still was clinging to a 100-97 cushion after an equally entertaining third quarter.
But George made two of the first three baskets in the fourth quarter to spur 8-0 run and Indiana never recovered.
“Good teams put you away, they don’t let you back in the game,” Brogdon said. “That’s what they did tonight. They built an 11-, 12-point lead and they kept it.”
