OK, fine, so maybe a shoulder bump added to the reasons Paul George went flying across the court on his butt after J.R. Smith unleashed a nasty behind-the-back crossover on him Thursday night.
Regardless, George and the visiting Indiana Pacers had the final laugh, as they took down the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 107-85 in preseason action.
PG finished with a game-high 17 points.
Per the AP:
Cleveland (0-5) played without LeBron James, who sat out for the second straight game. Coach David Blatt said James might not play for the remainder of the preseason as the team tries to limit the four-time MVP’s minutes going into the Oct. 27 opener at Chicago.
Timofey Mozgov led Cleveland with 16 points. … J.R. Smith scored 10 points after missing three games with a strained hamstring. … Matthew Dellavedova didn’t play because of a sore ankle.
Pacers coach Frank Vogel said George has been full-go throughout training camp after missing most of last season with a broken leg. “I’ve given him opportunities to take time off and his response is, ‘I kind of had the whole year off last year. I like being in there,'” Vogel said.
