A Retrospective of the LeBron James vs. Indiana Pacers Rivalry
By Jared Wade
Paul George’s 21-Point Quarter, Part II
by William Furr
Well before Game 5 of the 2014 Eastern Conference finals, Paul George had gone from being a terror on defense to a guy who showed signs of greatness. But doing so against the best player alive, in an elimination game was positively Miller-esque.
I haven’t seen a Pacers player perform like that in a clutch situation since Reggie himself, and Paul George never looked worried or frenetic. He spent the quarter staring down two future Hall of Famers (LeBron James and Dwyane Wade), shrugging his shoulders, and then scoring on them.
They knew it was coming, they knew PG was the only semblance of offense the Pacers had going for them at the moment, and it didn’t matter. He ripped them on D. He dunked on Jesus Shuttlesworth after deking him in two different directions while outrunning the master of the chase-down block. He went positively Kobe/MJ on a turnaround fadeaway on the baseline. He hit contested 3s over both of them.
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The moment never looked too big for him; he just kept calmly setting fire to the Miami D, then walking away when he drove them to take timeouts to stop the bleeding.
We’ve seen plenty of players get hot in the fourth, but in the playoffs, in an elimination game, against the best player alive? No way.
The rivalry won’t be the same when Cleveland comes to town.
The Miami/Pacers history isn’t there, and Paul George will be in his best “sitting on the bench for extended periods of time” attire. That’s sad, but I don’t think this rivalry is dead by any means.
Paul George will come back, and I don’t see him starting to be afraid of LeBron James.
Not after he has lit up the King for 21 points in the fourth quarter of an elimination game.