LA Clippers star swingman Paul George said he felt good in his first game back after spraining a ligament in his shooting elbow.
But George also said he has to see how his elbow feels on Tuesday morning after it took some shots and a “couple stingers” during the Clippers’ 116-92 loss to the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.
George put up a healthy stat line, finishing with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists after missing five games. When asked if his injury might force him to miss more games in the future or require maintenance, George said he wasn’t sure.
“It took some hits today, couple stingers,” George said. “We’ll see how it feels tomorrow, not sure it will be sore or not. See how it feels in the morning.”
George had not played since Dec. 6 at Portland, where he scored 21 points. The Clippers, who have lost three straight games, play at Sacramento on Wednesday and hope their star player remains active.
The Clippers have dealt with injuries all season. Kawhi Leonard (ACL) has yet to play. Starting power forward Marcus Morris Sr. (health and safety protocols) and backup center Isaiah Hartenstein are out, and Reggie Jackson is playing through a quad injury.
Clippers coach Ty Lue said his team looked like it needed to adjust to having George back after it allowed the Spurs to get up 114 shots — 26 more than the Clippers — and grab 23 offensive rebounds.
The 114 shot attempts were the most in a Spurs game under head coach Gregg Popovich since 1996-97, and the offensive rebounds were also their most in a game since 2006, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before,” Lue said of the Spurs’ total field goal attempts and offensive rebounds. “… It was a layup drill, floater drill, a walk in the park. We’ve got to look in the mirror, all of us, and come back with a physicality on Wednesday night or it’ll be the same result.”
Source: www.espn.com