The Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday afternoon delivered a spanking at the Quicken Loans Arena with their 148-124 beatdown of the Cleveland Cavaliers. This was a contest in which Cavs superstar forward LeBron James was supposed to get to 30,000 career points and he needed just 25 to do so, but Thunder star forward Paul George was not going to let that happen.
George, who finished with a game-high 36 points in the epic rout of the Cavs, has the utmost respect for James but he wasn't going to let the Cavs forward get there against him and his Thunder teammates.
“I was hopeful that it took two games for him to get to that,” George said with a smile. “I actually didn't know that stat until right before coming into tonight. They told me he needed 25 to get to 30,000.”
James, who finished with 18 points and seven assists, is just seven markers shy of 30,000 career regular season points. He would become just the seventh player in NBA history to hit that amazing mark.
Article Continues Below“I’ve been a part of a lot of those baskets he had so that’s an achievement or milestone I didn’t want to be a part of,” George said of James.
A video of the postgame interview, which was posted to Twitter by Royce Young of ESPN, can be viewed below.
Paul George on if he was aware LeBron needed 25 for 30,000, and if that was a little extra motivation defensively: “I’ve been a part of a lot of those baskets he had so that’s an achievement or milestone I didn’t want to be a part of.” pic.twitter.com/aUuEzoPY1E
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) January 21, 2018
This was simply an offensive clinic for the Thunder and a historically-bad defensive performance for the Cavs, as their 148 points given up is the second-most allowed in a regulation game since the 2011 NBA lockout.
Oklahoma City, who set a franchise record for most points scored in a road regulation game, have now won four straight contests and sit at 26-20.