LOS ANGELES • The debut of the Los Angeles Clippers' star duo never materialised on Saturday night.
Instead, fans saw a one-man show.
With Kawhi Leonard absent for his fourth National Basketball Association (NBA) game of the season, Paul George took command in his first home game as a Clipper by scoring 37 points in 20 minutes - the first NBA player to score so many points in less than 21 minutes of playtime - in his team's 150-101 win over the Atlanta Hawks at the Staples Centre.
The victory ended a two-game losing streak and also provided further evidence that their other summer recruit, who had not played in 207 days until he scored 33 points in 24 minutes during his season debut on Thursday, is already far along in his progression back to the court after off-season shoulder surgery.
George called that performance "terrible", in part because it occurred during a loss in New Orleans, but he did not grade Saturday's effort so critically.
"It means everything," the All-Star said afterwards. "I could get used to this. I couldn't wait to get in front of this crowd. I couldn't wait to be home."
When he went to the bench with 8min 7sec remaining in the third quarter, George had already scored 34 points in his first 18 minutes and had he not returned for the fourth quarter, it would not have been shocking.
The Clippers (8-5) were already leading by double figures and there was no need for an encore.
Fans had already chanted "6-6-1!" during his free-throw attempts - the number for the area code of Palmdale, California, where George grew up.
When the forward finally exited the game in the fourth, Hall of Famer Jerry West, a Clippers adviser, was among those who rose to their feet to applaud him.
Leonard did not play because of a left knee bruise suffered last Wednesday against the Houston Rockets - not the ongoing tendon issue in the same knee that has been why he missed his three previous games.
Patrick Beverley missed his second consecutive game with a calf injury while fellow guard Landry Shamet was also absent owing to a sprained ankle.
But the Hawks could not capitalise on the hosts' injury situation, with Trae Young making only two of his first 11 field goals before finishing with a team-high 20 points on four-of-16 shooting. The visitors' star guard had been averaging 27.3 points and 9.1 assists going into Saturday's contest, but the Atlanta Hawks (4-8) never took off without his usual production.
Although Clippers coach Doc Rivers later praised Young as "a tough dude" and for his "cut-throat, killer attitude", he could not find the room to operate. George had no such trouble, however. DPA
LA LAKERS V ATLANTA
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