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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Paul George would rather not have that stain of a 25-game suspension for flunking a drug test on his permanent record.
As unnecessary as that failure was, the layoff for the 35-year-old George — who spent most of his first two seasons with the 76ers sidelined with various injuries — came with a bit of a physical rebirth.
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George got to rest, rehab and then play his way into the game shape and forget about the knee and adductor injuries — among others — that robbed the nine-time All-Star of his full potential that he flashed in his three previous NBA stops.
George hit a team-high five 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead the Sixers to a 106-93 win over the Celtics on Thursday night and force Game 7 Saturday night in Boston.
“I’m finally enjoying it now that I’m able to do things I was once able to do again,” George said. “It’s fun again. It’s like seeing who I am again. How can I be relevant again? How can I chase some of the things I was doing in my past?”
When the Sixers needed George to help rally them from a 3-1 deficit in their first-round series against Boston, he was as relevant, as valuable as he’s been since he signed with the Sixers in the summer of 2024 on a four-year, $212 million free-agent contract.
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Case in point, his role in the play of the game — and maybe the series — the third quarter when Kelly Oubre Jr. blocked Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey scooped the loose ball and fed to George on the break who then dazzled with a behind-the-back pass to VJ Edgecombe who finished with a thunderous dunk for a 69-54 lead.
“We keep stacking wins like this, man, who knows where we’ll be?” George said.
New York sure would be nice.
Maxey, Edgecombe and Joel Embiid — who scored 19 points in his third game back since his appendectomy — have played their roles in the series comeback to near perfection. George was lost in the shuffle at times this season — in large part because of the suspension — but also because he deferred to the other three Sixers to do what they do best and let the offense run through them.
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George reminded the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rock-bottom-game-7-paul-050252913.html
Author : DAN GELSTON
Publish date : 2026-05-01 05:02:00
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