Only a few video games supply as clear a view of colliding worlds because the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder did on the Crypto.com Area on Tuesday evening. Sadly, Paul George’s hyperextended knee put a damper on the night. Halfway by means of the third quarter, we witnessed the brilliance of George on show as he caught his defender sleeping with a shifty faux exterior, then knifed into the paint, reeled in a bounce go from Mason Plumlee, after which executed a clean 360 dunk.

Late within the fourth quarter, George was being helped off the ground and carted from the world after hyperextending his proper knee. Sarcastically, the Clippers have been probably the most aggressive helicopter dad and mom of the NBA. Their coaching employees has spent all the season attempting to manage destiny by means of load administration. Sitting Kawhi Leonard on back-to-backs and resting George as a wholesome DNP by means of damage administration protocols, the tragedy of load administration is that put on and tear aren’t the one causes of calamitous accidents.

Fittingly, it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the former Clipper Sam Presti obtained in trade for Paul George, who completed off L.A. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way in which for Oklahoma Metropolis by logging 31 factors on 12-of-25 capturing. His fortieth 30-point recreation of the season put him within the unique firm of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook because the solely Thunder gamers ever to perform that feat. SGA additionally joins Joel Embiid and Luka Dončić because the solely gamers leaguewide to place up 40-plus video games of 30 or extra factors this 12 months.

A former Clipper level guard rising into the celebrity class, whereas Los Angeles rummaged by means of the underside of the league’s drawers for some extent guard, underscores the advantage of endurance that the Clippers eschewed once they gutted their workforce tradition in the summertime of 2019 by going all in on Leonard and George.

We witnessed a extra melodramatic, soap-opera model of this play out in Brooklyn during the last three years whereas they fought unsuccessfully to emerge from beneath the New York Knicks’ shadow. The Clippers could rue the day they traded SGA for George, however he wasn’t alone in his triumphant return.

Jalen Williams chipped in 20 factors, capturing 50 p.c from the sector and from distance. Then Oklahoma Metropolis guard Lu Dort served Leonard a few of his personal medication by way of a dose of All-NBA protection on the ultimate possession of regulation to safe the win.

The Thunder, who constructed their core organically in distinction to the Clippers’ prosaic mercenary squad, are on the verge of breaking into the Western Convention’s prime six and the final word payoff might play out over the long run.

On the Clippers’ aspect, their title possibilities will relaxation on the severity of George’s knee. After dropping Leonard for consecutive postseasons, 2023 has been a dismaying expertise. After all of the overprotective protocols to successfully wrap their stars in bubble wrap, they poisoned no matter workforce chemistry they did have in reserves and are in peril of slipping into the play-in crevice. George could wind up having the ability to get better earlier than the postseason, however their momentum is trending within the improper route.