Paul George finishes the double-clutch reverse dunk as Pacers top Cavs
The upcoming Indiana Pacers season will be defined largely by the degree to which Paul George reclaims (or improves upon) the form that earned him an All-NBA Third Team spot in 2013-14. One year removed from the gruesome broken leg injury that limited him to just six April games last season, the 25-year-old George can change the East landscape by announcing himself as one of top players in the conference. The new-look Pacers are sure hoping he does.
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If that doesn’t happen, then at least George will provide some really cool open-court dunks. That’s what happened in the first quarter of Thursday’s preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. A George Hill steal at the other end set up George for a clean look at a double-pump reverse jam:
It’s hard to watch this dunk and not think of George’s in-game 360 windmill against the Los Angeles Lakers in January 2014. That one was clearly better, but that doesn’t mean Thursday’s offering was a weak one.
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George struggled to score efficiently over the game as a whole, shooting just 5-of-16 from the field for a team-high 17 points with eight rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes. But the Pacers coasted to a 107-85 win over a Cavs squad that sat LeBron James and Kevin Love. Timofety Mozgov and Richard Jefferson combined for 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
