The Los Angeles Clippers fell prey to the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night, 101-100. The game can easily be forgotten by Clippers fans for a major reason outside of the loss, as star forward Paul George suffered what appears to be a serious injury in the fourth quarter of the contest.
But before that injury, Paul George gave a reminder to everyone that, when healthy, he is an electrifying player to watch. In the third quarter, George made a slick move off the ball to lose Lu Dort before cutting and getting a pass from Mason Plumlee for a finish — not just an ordinary finish, but an in-game 360 dunk.
PAUL GEORGE 360 BASELINE JAM 💥pic.twitter.com/n4aWztfGqw
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 22, 2023
Most 360 dunks in a game happen when there's virtually no traffic in the paint because it's just so hard to pull off. That is also why in-0game 360 dunks usually occur during transition attacks off of turnovers. It doesn't just require incredible athleticism but also the near complete absence of defenders in the vicinity. Paul George had one of those requirements checked because he's a superb athlete, and that was all he needed to finish that 360 despite a half-court setup.
Of course, Twitter lit up right after that George highlight.
From Law Murray: “Paul George just uncorked the dunk of his career. NBA JAM style two-handed 360 off a Plumlee pass. WHAT.”
“WTF PAUL GEORGE 360 NO SCOPE DUNK!?,” said Farbod Esnaashari.
Article Continues BelowHere's another reaction from Rylan Stiles: “Paul George is out here 360’ing mid game through traffic. If OKC finds a way to win this don’t keep falling on the x team didn’t really care narrative.”
“What did Paul George just do?” exclaimed Kade Kimble. “A 360 in-game dunk in a one possession game is insane.”
Twitter user was left wondering if he was all of a sudden transported back in time: “Paul George with a 360 two hand back scratcher in the half court HUH? We in 2017?”
Paul George injury
George left the Thunder game with a little under five minutes remaining in the final quarter after sustaining a scary lower-body injury while going for a rebound against Dort, who collided with him in the air. George immediately went down before getting helped to the locker room.
The Clippers are now hoping that Paul George's injury isn't as bad as it looked and that he would need to miss a prolonged period of time, especially with the NBA Playoffs coming up soon.