Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George dropped 32 points during Thursday's win over the Portland Trail Blazers. That in itself may not seem all that noteworthy for a player averaging 28.6 points per game this year, but it's how he got there that's relevant: George finished 17-for-20 from the free-throw stripe.
In what was a physical affair that saw Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic mix it up with George and others before getting ejected, George received the benefit of a whistle that allowed him to set new career highs in both attempts (20) and makes (17) from the free-throw line. For that, George, via ESPN, says he'll take it easy on the officials.
“It was kind of weird because I planned on losing my money until I saw I shot 20 free throws. I had a lot of words for the officiating tonight, but I guess I can't say much with 20 free throws.”
It appears that George was ready to lay into league officials for their handling of a contest that his team won, but not only did the officiating crew not cost the Oklahoma City star any money, they essentially made him some.
George's historic three-point streak of having knocked down multiple triples in 40 straight games was snapped during the victory, although that's likely of little concern to a player with his aspirations on reaching the NBA Finals. Still, on his route to potentially being named the league's MVP, George will need some help from the free-throw line on nights when he shoots 7-for-23 and that's exactly what he got Thursday.
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