Thirty-three games into the season, Paul George is still trying to figure out how to operate within the Pacers' offense. When to assert himself and look for his shot, when to look for his teammates. When to settle for a jumper, when to attack the basket. When to be the guy who scored 48 points in a game at Utah last month, when to be the guy capable of triple-doubles.
That identity crisis was evident throughout the Pacers' 94-82 victory over Detroit at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday, but there was no mistaking his intention throughout the final five minutes, when he scored the Pacers' final 21 points and lifted them from the dregs of a game played in the mud to a closing sprint across the finish line.