Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers were eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday night with a 104-89 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of their second-round series. The Clippers, whose main goal was to make a run at an NBA championship this season, fell way short of that despite taking a commanding 3-1 series lead.
George shot well for most of the series, but struggled in the do-or-die Game 7, finishing with just 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting from the field. Leonard also couldn't find the bottom of the net, scoring just 14 points on 6-of-22 shooting.
The Clippers got a 26-point effort from George along with a 36-point, nine-rebound performance from Kawhi Leonard in Game 5, but were unable to close out the game. George finished with 33 points in addition to Leonard's 25 in Game 6, but squandered a 19-point third-quarter lead as Denver completed a second straight comeback. Anything can happen in a Game 7, and unfortunately for the Clippers, both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard struggled to score the ball.
In the second halves of Games 5, 6, and 7, the Denver Nuggets outscored the Clippers 181-117. It's a stat that doesn't seem real, and there seems to be no explanation for Denver's Warriors-esque third quarters where they went ballistic and the Clippers went ice cold on both ends.
“We get the same looks,” George explained on why the Clippers weren't able to make shots in the second halves of the last three games. “We've been getting the same shots that we've been getting in the first half all those games. We just as a squad went cold, and on the other side of that, they kept just running their stuff. They kept running in with pace, with speed and getting the looks they want to get. For them, they missed those shots in the first half. We're making ours in the first half, and it's complete opposite in the second half of each of those games.”
To make matters worse, the Clippers held a 16-point lead in the third quarter of Game 5, a 19-point lead in the 3rd quarter of Game 6, and a 12-point lead in the late portions of the second quarter in Game 7. The story in Games 5-7 was the Clippers building a double-digit lead, the lead getting significantly smaller after three quarters, and the Nuggets running away with the game in fourth quarters.
“That hurts,” George said. “That hurts. It hurts. It hurts … But we move on. You know, again, Year 1 together, first run together. Of course we wanted to win this. But we've been very optimistic about us being together and building something going down the road.
“They made shots. It's been really the tale of the series. They been making shots, playing at a faster pace, you know, and they got free tonight. I thought Jamal got free. Jokic made big plays, kept the ball alive, big rebounds. You know, they play well. They played well to close the game out tonight.”
Paul George on the locker room – "We stayed positive about it. We tipped our hats off to the opponents… It hurt as a group. It's not the outcome that we wanted. We talked it out. We're looking for the long run. All we got from here, is to be positive going forward."#Clippers pic.twitter.com/tuyGME2Buo
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) September 16, 2020
The Clippers had astronomically high expectations after landing the reigning NBA Finals MVP and the third-place finisher in MVP voting in 2019. They were not only expected to compete for a championship, but they were the favorite throughout most of the season. Was there internal pressure, however, to make their dreams a reality?
“I mean, it's pressure you want,” Paul George added. “It's pressure you want. You want that pressure. First time I've been on a team and not be considered an underdog. So it was different, but you want that pressure as a competitor, as a guy that wants to compete. You want that pressure. Fact of the matter is, we didn't make it to where we wanted to get to. Tip our hats off to Denver. They played great, and again, all we got to do is look forward to the next one.”
Is it possible that in a hectic year that saw them play just 11 regular-season games with everyone available, the expectations were set too high for these Clippers? George doesn't think so.
“I mean, again, it was obvious pressure to live up to the title expectations. But as a player, I mean, you want that. Like you want that. Again, it's the first time I've been in that situation where we're expected to win. But you know, it is what it is. It's no cop out. Fact of the matter is, we didn't live up to that expectation.”
George did add that he believes this is a long-term process for the Clippers and that the 2019-20 season was not considered a “championship-or-bust” year.
“I think internally we've always felt this is not a championship-or-bust year for us. You know, we can only get better the longer we stay together and the more we're around each other. More chemistry for the group, the better. I think that's really the tale of the tape of this season. We just didn't have enough time together.”
Paul George on expectations – “It’s the first time I've been in that situation where we're expected to win. It is what it is. It's no cop out. Fact of the matter is, we didn't live up to that expectation.
“Internally, we've always felt this is not a championship-or-bust year.” pic.twitter.com/B2Z6EiG0iS
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) September 16, 2020
The Clippers did meet briefly as a team before breaking off to shower, completing their media duties, and heading back to their hotels to pack for a bubble departure. In that meeting, Paul George says the team stayed positive and knew what they had to do to improve in the long run.
“We just stayed positive about it. We stayed positive about it. Again, we tipped our hats off to the opponents. They played good down the stretch. But you know, it hurt as a group. You know, it's not the outcome that we wanted. But we stayed together, regardless. We talked it out. We stayed together in the locker room and again, we kind of knew what this was. It's a team that's, you know, we're looking for the long run, and keep saying it, all we got from here, is to be positive going down — going forward of what we can be and you know, the team in the future. That's all we have right now, and you know, we're just positive and optimistic about it.”
The Clippers have a lot of crucial offseason decisions to make with a lot of time to think things through following the loss. As it stands, they're likely to take a few weeks off before getting back to the drawing board for the 2020-21 season.
In his first season with the Clippers, Paul George finished averaging 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game on 43.9 percent shooting from the field and 41.2 percent from beyond the arc. In the playoffs, George averaged 20.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game on 39.8 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.
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