Paul George’s return to Indiana as the Thunder visited the Pacers on national TV didn’t begin as planned: OKC has been awfully inconsistent and disappointing, while Indiana, behind Victor Oladipo, has excelled. Still, unsurprisingly, Pacers fans booed George at every turn, and he looked nervous early on.
Paul George shut Indiana up ... for now
We have that and more in Thursday’s NBA newsletter.
ESPN broadcast
Those jitters wore off eventually, and George iced the game down the stretch, resulting in him actually shushing the crowd, which is ballsy and beautiful.
The win, combined with a Utah loss, actually launched OKC into the No. 8 seed in the West at 13-14. This could truly be a decisive moment in their season. Indiana is No. 5 in the East, four games above .500.
Be sure to read Whitney Medworth on how Indiana fell in and out of love with PG-13.
Scores Galore ...
OKC 100, IND 95
LAC 106, ORL 95
MEM 87, WAS 93
DEN 118, BOS 124
POR 102, MIA 95
UTA 100, CHI 103
MIL 108, NOP 115
TOR 115, PHX 109
CHA 96, HOU 108
... And So Much More
I wrote about whether Russell Westbrook will even be an all-star this season after winning MVP a year ago. Due to injury, he’s a pretty likely reserve choice, especially if the Thunder are in a playoff spot when coaches vote. But he’s not a lock.
The league has reached a deal to stream some G League games on Twitch, a streaming service mostly known for watching esports and video games. Peter Kafka’s take at Recode is interesting. This is definitely the NBA dipping its toe into new tech and trying to capture an even younger audience.
Attention Karl-Anthony Towns: NEVER TRY TO ROAST JOEL EMBIID ON JOEL EMBIID’S OWN INSTAGRAM!
The Starters’ 10 favorite NBA mascots who no longer exist.
Disney is buying a bunch of Fox. That includes Fox’s regional sports networks, which carry a bunch of NBA teams and many college conferences. ESPN is going to wield an even heavier stick for basketball fans very soon.
Chris Herring on the Warriors’ staggeringly high rate of blocked shots.
The Rockets, who have won 11 straight, have the best record in the NBA, and are undefeated with Chris Paul, went on a 25-0 run on Charlotte.
Zach Lowe on the Grizzlies at a crossroads.
The mere specter of Giannis Antetokounmpo chasing him down convinced Jameer Nelson to pass out of an open lay-up. (I don’t blame him.)
The Lakers will miss Kentavious Caldwell-Pope when he’s gone. He’s going to have one interesting free agency.
Harry Lyles Jr. on the Evansville basketball plane crash and its impact on college basketball is powerful.
Thursday’s TNT doubleheader ... might not be competitive: Lakers-Cavaliers at 8 p.m. ET followed by the Harrison Barnes Spectacular (Mavericks-Warriors) at 10:30.
Be excellent to each other.
The two players acquired for Paul George are fueling Indiana’s rise
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