LOS ANGELES – Paul George knew it as soon as the ball left his hand.
On Dec 2, the forward drilled the game-winning three-pointer as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a 22-point third-quarter deficit to stun the Golden State Warriors 113-112 in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
He finished with a game-high 25 points, with 11 of those coming in the fourth quarter. His late bucket finally put the Clippers in the lead for the first time in the game, with 9.9 seconds remaining, connecting from beyond the arc over a helpless Klay Thompson.
“It felt good as soon as I released it,” said George, who added six rebounds and six assists. “I got a good look at the basket, thank God it went in.”
The visitors had a final chance, but Draymond Green missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer.
George said the comeback was especially meaningful against the Warriors’ potent offence.
“They can put points up so quick,” he said. “The fact we were able to come back, it just shows a lot – this group is ready to fight and play all the way until the end.”
James Harden added 21 points and Kawhi Leonard chipped in 20 for the Clippers, who withstood 17 three-pointers from the Warriors.
Stephen Curry scored 22 points and handed out 11 assists for Golden State.
Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s first triple-double of the season – 32 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists – helped the Milwaukee Bucks finally see off the Atlanta Hawks 132-121 in a home game that featured 17 lead changes.
Damian Lillard added 25 points and nine assists for the Bucks, who were tied 114-114 with less than six minutes remaining but out-scored the Hawks 18-7 the rest of the way.
“Sometimes we just have an understanding of how to win games,” Lillard said. “In those (late-game) moments, everything you need to do well, we start to do well.”
Trae Young led Atlanta with 32 points and 12 assists. Dejounte Murray had 30 points, and Clint Capela contributed 10 points and 17 rebounds.
In Brooklyn, Mikal Bridges scored 42 points to pace the Nets, who halted the Orlando Magic’s winning streak at nine games with a 129-101 victory.
He singlehandedly out-scored the Magic with 26 points in the first quarter, as the Nets roared to a 43-22 lead that put them on the road to victory.
The thing that impressed Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn about Bridges’ big first period was that “nothing was forced”.
“It was in the flow,” he said. “I thought his teammates got him into great position so he could score the basketball and he took advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves.”
The Magic suffered their first defeat since a Nov 14 loss to the Nets, coming up short in their bid for the first 10-game winning streak in franchise history.
In Detroit, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Pistons 110-101 to hand them a 17th straight defeat while in Dallas, Oklahoma City withstood a furious 30-0 fourth-quarter rally by the short-handed Mavericks to win 126-120. AFP
