Not what the Clippers wanted to see with the end of the regular season just weeks away. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Clippers are holding their breath after Paul George left Tuesday’s game with an apparent knee injury.
The All-Star wing landed awkwardly after his leg collided with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort while hitting a rebound in the fourth quarter. The knee seemed to buckle which you can see here.
George fell to the ground immediately and was clearly in pain. He was eventually helped off by Clippers staff:
George had 18 points on 9-of-17 shooting with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in 34 minutes at the time of his retirement. Two of those points came through a highlight reel 360 dunk.
The Clippers would later lose 101-100.
ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk reported after the game that George was carted out of the arena during the game Law Murray of The Athletic said he used crutches before he walked.
With just nine regular-season games remaining after Tuesday, a serious injury to George would be a huge blow to the Clippers. The team currently sits 38-35 in fifth place in the Western Conference and is 1.5 games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks in seventh place, which would put them in the play-in tournament.
Managing the health of George and Kawhi Leonard has been an ongoing obstacle since the two All-Stars first joined the team, but this season had been fairly steady following Leonard’s return from an ACL tear in the 2021 postseason through injury . In 55 games starting Tuesday, George had averaged 23.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting 45.6% from the field and 37.5% from 3-point range.