The Thunder was in Utah on the end of a four-game road trip. Paul George was in a shooting slump and the early stages of shoulder soreness which would plague him the final month of the season. But when George’s shot isn’t falling, he dives into his defense.
The Thunder beat the Jazz by nine, largely on the defensive brilliance of George. The 6-foot-9, 220-pounder slid seamlessly between snuffing out Joe Ingles one-on-one to outworking the bigger Derrick Favors in the post, to intercepting passes from Donovan Mitchell and Jae Crowder. Much like he was all season, George was everywhere.