NEW YORK — Paul George’s decision to pause Podcast P to focus on the Philadelphia 76ers paid immediate dividends for him.
In the Philadelphia 76ers’ 110-105 loss to the New York Knicks, George played a huge part in a comeback effort that fell just short. He finished the game with 25 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals on 9-20 shooting from the field. It was his first 20-point game in a month and his first 20-7-7 stat line of the season.
The Sixers once again failed to pick up a win, losing their ninth straight game, but they more closely resembled a serious team for the first time in a while. The task at hand now is to figure out how to carry the level of play they displayed in the second half for entire games. PG-8 has to be one of the players leading the charge there.
George said the decision to put his show on hold was something that he’d thought about for a little while.
“It was something that was kind of racking in my head a little bit just because of [being] new to the city, being acclimated to Philadelphia,” George said. “I wanted to be all in regardless. I didn’t want to take away from that experience of learning the city and being deep down into the city.
“It was always on the forefront,” he continued, “but it just came to a point where it was like, ‘All right, this is the time to take a step back for a second.’”
Paul George putting Podcast P on hold to focus more on 76ers season
The 76ers are not one to celebrate moral victories (nor should they be) but seeing George this rejuvenated should excite them. At 20-38, things are only getting direr for them. But if PG can consistently bring efforts like these, they can at least go out fighting.
“I think he got himself to good spots,” Nick Nurse said. “I think, the whole game, there was only — I only can think of one that I thought was a little out of rhythm.”
George got to the rim and the foul line several times and made four of his nine three-point attempts. He and Tyrese Maxey both started the game poorly but went on to have huge second halves. Maxey led the Sixers with 30 points, though he shot just 12-32 from the field, while Kelly Oubre Jr. went off for 27 points on 9-14 shooting.
In the end, Jalen Brunson sealed the deal by scoring 14 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter. The first go-around for the newly podcast-less Paul George was promising but nonetheless ended in a loss. Putting aside his show was an effort to make the most of his first season with the 76ers, of which there is still a month and change left.
“It was more just to focus on here,” George said. “I haven’t been the healthiest, so it’s just been putting a ton of work towards getting my body as healthy as possible. The key focus of obviously being here and trying to turn things around here. The full focus is trying to get this team together. We gotta give ourselves a chance, take it one game at a time. But we gotta give ourselves a chance to see what we can do down the stretch.”
George called the 76ers out for their lack of championship-level habits after a recent loss. By pausing his podcast, he hopes to lead by example and gain more time to prepare for the home stretch of the season.
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