Paul George once again came up big when his team needed him the most. Unfortunately for the Thunder, that team is no longer Oklahoma City.
The former Thunder center drilled a go-ahead three-pointer with 25 seconds left in the game to lift the Clippers to a 90-88 victory over OKC late Monday night.
As has been the theme all season, the Thunder was in this one at the end.
A pair of ex-Clippers, Danilo Gallinari and Chris Paul, put Oklahoma City ahead with under a minute to play. Gallinari first made a 3 with 52.5 seconds remaining to tie the game at 86, then Paul hit two free-throws at the 31.5 mark to make it 88-86 OKC.
Then came the shot by George.
Paul told reporters, including Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, after the game he blamed himself for allowing George to take the game-winner.
“If I get through the screen that’s a tougher shot. And you know PG, he makes big shots like that, so that’s on me.”
Paul led the Thunder with 22 points. Three other players were in double-digits; Gallinari scored 14, Dennis Schroder came off the bench to add 12, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander chipped in 11.
Both Gallinari and Gilgeous-Alexander were welcomed back warmly and received a tribute video from the Clippers.
Oklahoma City doesn’t have any time to dwell on Monday’s loss. Their West Coast road trip continues Monday night as they return to the Staples Center on Tuesday to take on the Lakers.
