FILE – Paul George #13 of the LA Clippers stands for the national anthem before their game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on March 02, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/AFP
Clippers guard Paul George was assisted off the floor and helped to the locker room after sustaining an apparent right knee injury during the fourth quarter of Los Angeles’ 101-100 loss to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
George appeared to hyperextend his right knee after he was fouled by Luguentz Dort on a rebound attempt with 4:38 remaining. He did not return to the game.
Facing his former team, George put up 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in 35 minutes.
For the season, he is averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 56 games.
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George, 32, is an eight-time All-Star and four-time All-Defensive Team selection. He has career averages of 20.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals.
The Clippers can’t afford to lose one of their stars for a significant period with just nine games left in the regular season. Los Angeles sits in fifth place in the Western Conference, just one game up on the Golden State Warriors and 1 1/2 games in front of both the Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks.
Only the top six teams automatically qualify for the postseason. The teams in seventh through 10th will compete for two playoff berths in the play-in tournament. Currently, the teams sitting in sixth through 12th place are all within 2 1/2 games of the Clippers.