From 'rock bottom' to Game 7: Paul George’s physical reset fuels the Sixers’ comeback against Boston
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. 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.
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. 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. 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.