Paul George Gets 41 Points, Records 9 Threes in All-Star Game – But No MVP

Paul George scored 41 points in the 2016 All-Star Game in Toronto, just one point shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s record.

It may have been Kobe Bryant’s final All-Star Game but it was a player that looked up to him growing up who had one of the best All-Star Games in NBA history: Paul George.

The Indiana Pacers superstar was on fire from the moment the game started as he scored 41 points on 16-of-26 shooting, including a record-setting 9-of-19 from 3-point range in the Eastern Conference’s 193-172 loss to the Western Conference. In addition to making the 9 triples — more than anyone had ever hit in an All-Star Game — he finished with a very efficient 61.5% field goal percentage, including 47.4% from beyond the arc, in addition to 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal in the game as well.

Late in the game, coach Gregg Popovich and the Western Conference went into a “box and 2” defense to double-team Paul George and prevent him from breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s All-Star Game record of 42 points. Pop stopped play to take out Kobe in order for the legend to get a standing ovation from the capacity crowd, and he slyly inserted Draymond Green to hound PG up and down the floor for the final minute.

Kevin Durant clearly didn’t want PG to get the record either as the two Western All-Stars doubled Paul George away from the ball to ensure he couldn’t even catch a pass, let alone score again.

But while the West team knew what was at stake is Paul George scored again, PG said he wasn’t even aware.

In talking to David Aldrige after the game, PG said might have broken Chamberlin’s record if he had known that he was only a point away. He realized that he had the 3 record, and he thought his peers from the West were just trying to stop him from piling on to that milestone.

On top of all that, let’s not forget this is his first full-season since breaking his leg in 2014, a fact not lost on his peers or by the West’s coach, Gregg Popovich. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t get the record, but I am sure Paul George was honored in his own way by receiving such attention and clowning from his buddies out West.

At the end of the day, it’s just an exhibition record, but the double-teaming is a funny memory that I’m sure he’ll never forget as opposed to a record that (the way these All-Star scores are going in recent years) would likely fall soon anyway.

Paul George’s performance will be one for the ages as far as All-Star Game history goes, despite the fact he didn’t win the most valuable player award.

That honor went to the West’s Russell Westbrook who had 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting as well as 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals.

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Should Paul George have won? Probably. He had 10 more points than anyone else on the court and broke the 3-point record. Sure, his team lost by a ton, but it’s the All-Star Game after all. Then again, Russ has a presence that is hard to top by just hitting in rhythm, open 3s — even 9 of them, apparently.

Of the 9 media voters, 6 picked Westbrook (including Reggie Miller), 2 picked PG (Shaun Powell and Sam Amick), and 1 took Chris Paul. The fan vote, which counted for 3 points, gave 2 to Kobe and 1 to Steph Curry.

So for those counting at home, Westbrook won (with 6 votes) without any fan vote support, while PG and Kobe tied for second place based on their respective votes from the media and fans.

In the press conference afterwards, PG was asked if he had any expectations coming into this All-Star game.

“Yeah, of course,” he told the media. “I think to start out everyone wants a chance to win MVP in the All-Star Game. That was definitely a goal. So much special stuff wrapped around this one. It would have been a special moment to win it. But really, it was really just about coming here and enjoying everyone’s — just enjoying being with these guys, man, and having a good showing.”

The storyline of him returning from his injury from 18 months ago to have the season he’s having, as well as the performance he had in Sunday’s game, was also brought up.

“It’s really special,” said George. “You know, I had a hard-fought summer, hard-fought rehab year. It was just a very upward climb. It took every day and really every moment of rehab to get through it. There were a lot of days where I felt like I was down and out but just stayed with it. For me to be here just being back as an All-Star was special. But to be able to put on a show and have fun and enjoy this moment, get back to playing how I play pre-injury is special. I’ve just been blessed. I’m very thankful and very grateful.”

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For Indiana Pacers fans, the hope is this weekend has helped Paul George’s confidence, and resting until Friday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder allows him to get his legs back, something that had been troubling him in recent weeks.