Miami Heat Cannot Contain Paul George In Friday’s Loss

It was a long night for the Miami Heat trying to defend Paul George, who dropped a monster game on them to drop the Heat’s record to 3-3 on the season.

The Miami Heat had a great chance of knocking off the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Despite being on the second night of a back-to-back, they were able to keep up with the Pacers as this game looked like a throwback to their Eastern Conference playoff battles from two, three and four years ago.

The Pacers were dressed for the occasion, wearing throwback Hoosiers uniforms from the movie starring Gene Hackman.

That doesn’t explain why the Pacers shot as poorly at the free throw line as they did, as they made only 13-of-24 on the night. That, along with the pace of the game, are two things that made it look like the Heat would be able to pick up a win. But, despite those factors working in their favor, there was one thing that did not go their way; Paul George.

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George had a masterful performance against the Heat on Friday night, and was the sole reason that the Heat record stands at 3-3 and not 4-2 currently.

On a night when the Heat’s leader Dwyane Wade struggled, going 4-of-15 and scoring only nine points, Chris Bosh was left to keep up with George. He did what he could, scoring 21 points on 7-of-16 from the field with 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block, but that paled in comparison to what George delivered for the Pacers.

The Heat had no answer for the Pacers’ dynamic do it all superstar, who was back at his regular position of small forward. He looked to be at home all night, and set the tone early on. In our keys to the game, we mentioned how it was important that the Heat were able to set the tone and pace early on, but instead it was George doing that.

George delivered 11 of them in the first quarter to get the Pacers off on the right foot.

He didn’t slow down after that, as George finished with a season-high 36 points on 14-of-27 from the field. He hurt the Heat from all over the field, showing off his midrange game and making 2-of-6 from deep. He also added three assists to round out a very strong offensive game. Veteran Luol Deng had no answer for George, registering a poor plus/minus ratio of minus-14 in the game.

That caused Erik Spoelstra to go with rookie Justise Winslow to try and slow down George, but he also did it to no avail as there was no stopping George on this night.

It was a dominant effort all around for George though, as he did not forget about the other end of the court. He pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, the third time already this season that he is in double-figures. He was also a pest defensively for the Heat, as he blocked one shot and recorded three steals.

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George made it a long night for the Heat in their first of four matchups this season, as he continues to show that he is fully recovered from his devastating knee injury and ready to reclaim his spot as one of the top players in the NBA.