Paul George ‘frustrated’ to sit out OT, feels lucky Sixers pulled out win vs. Hornets

Paul George was frustrated.

The 76ers signed the perennial All-Star forward to a four-year, $211.5 million contract this summer to help close out games and bring an NBA championship to Philly. But with the game on the line Sunday night against the Charlotte Hornets, the 6-foot-8, 220-pounder was relegated to the bench. A minutes restriction denied him the opportunity to play in overtime.

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The Sixers went on to outscore the Hornets, 10-8, in the extra session, taking the 107-105 victory at the Wells Fargo Center.

But …

“I mean completely frustrated,” George said. “I was completely frustrated, you know, just the way this game was going. You know I wanted to be out there for the guys with that commitment to try to win the game, especially when you are home. You get on the good side.

“Luckily, my guys had me. Luckily, Jared McCain is on Year 5 already. He’s confident, but that was a great group effort.”

Not only did McCain score a huge basket in overtime, but the rookie guard also made a solid defensive stop on LaMelo Ball. Caleb Martin had a huge offensive rebound and made a pair of clutch foul shots to clinch the victory.

George finished with 15 points on 6-for-18 shooting — including making just 1-of-9 three-pointers — while playing with blurred vision in his fourth game of the season. He also had a season-high nine assists to go with three rebounds, two steals, and four turnovers in 33 minutes, 14 seconds.

However, it looked like the 34-year-old would leave the game in the first quarter. While trying to defend a pass, George caught his opponent’s finger in his eye. After falling to the court, he was on his back for a few minutes before getting up and heading to the bench during a timeout. George remained in the game.

“It just knocked [out] the whole vision,” said George, who had ointment applied to his left eye following the game. “I couldn’t see. It was blurry. It kind of hung around for a little bit.”

While being aggressive in the first quarter, George had a tough time making shots and finished with six points on 2-for-6 shooting. He had four points on 2-for-4 shooting in the second quarter before adding five points while making 2 of 3 shots in the third.

But George missed all five of his attempts and failed to score in the fourth quarter. His last shot attempt came after dribbling nearly eight seconds off the clock on the final possession of regulation. His shot was a 25-foot, step back three-pointer with the score knotted at 97 with 0.3 seconds left.

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“It was another tough situation where I had a chance to go fast and score quick,” he said. “But I was trying to play the last possession game and kind of got caught in a tricky situation. But I wanted to go right away, but I didn’t want to get a shot up and give them time to come down and get a shot up.

“So I was trying to get the last shot.”

The Hornets did a good job of showing a double team was coming his way before quickly leaving that defensive scheme.

“So it’s just more reps of getting on those situations,” he said, “and making the right play.”

This was George’s fourth game of the season after he missed the first five with a bone bruise in his left knee.