George reminds why he's on MVP list

The Pacers defeated the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 106-92 Saturday night. The Pacers are now an NBA best 32-7 on the season while the Clippers fell to 28-14.
The Big Plays
Who didn't love Paul George's 360 degree dunk? But this one was decided early on. The Pacers found themselves down 13-6 in the early going, then outscored the Clippers 27-5 on a run that continued early into the second quarter giving them a 15-point lead.  And while the spectacular dunk didn't come until after the outcome was decided late in the game to give the Pacers a 22-point lead, George scored 13 of the Pacers' 27 points in the early run. The Clippers tried to hang around for a while in this one, but they could get no closer than nine points early in the fourth quarter.
The Ups

Paul George had a highlight dunk in Saturday's win over
the Clippers, but he also scored 36 points.

1)  We've heard plenty about Lance Stephenson deserving to be an all-star, and hey, we're not arguing that point at all. But George's last three games have reminded Pacers and NBA fans on why he is on the list when it comes to talking about potential MVPs in the league this year. Including his 36-point game Saturday night, George is now averaging just under 31 points a game in his last three games. And they haven't all been layups. Those numbers include shooting 30 of 52 overall from the field, and hitting 13 of 21 from 3-point range. Yes, George had the highlight dunk of the night, but as Pacers fans know, his game is about much more than that. George had one of his most efficient games of the season hitting 12 of 17 field goals, all seven his free throws and five of six 3-pointers Saturday. Soon to be a second-time All-Star, George asserted himself in this one and the Clippers simply didn't have an answer for him. And even with all the good numbers, the one that Coach Frank Vogel might have liked the most is that George had just one turnover.
2) Lance Stephenson continued his push to make the all-star team with 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Stephenson seems to have found his groove at the right time too when it comes to all-star consideration. He has scored in double figures in the last seven games he has played in and he's also had four or more assists in all but one of those games. When Stephenson reaches the four assists mark the Pacers are 26-2. Yes, the turnovers are still a bit of problem at times with him, as he had four on this night. but hey, if makes them while he's having fun and the Pacers have a lead well into double digits, then it's a little difficult to complain.
3) The Clippers thought they could challenge center Roy Hibbert on this night, especially early on. And the defensive player of the year candidate may well have set the tone for the this game as he had all five of his blocks in the first eight minutes of the game. The result is that a talented offensive team like the Clippers ended up shooting just 40 percent from the field, including Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick combining to shoot 10 for 25. Hibbert also finished with 11 rebounds in the game.
The Downs
1) It's no secret I'm a big Hibbert fan, and he went through a tough offensive stretch at about this time last year and it seems to be happening again. Hibbert went 2 for 11 from field Saturday and it wouldn't be a big deal if it was just one off game. But the issue here is that he is that he has shot 50 percent or better from the field just once in the last eight games, and that was a 4-for-8 game. It's not easy as it looks for big guys to make shots down low as they are often nudged just enough to throw them a little off-balance. But Hibbert knows he needs to be better than this on the offensive end. The Pacers don't need him to dominant on the offensive end, but they do need him to be efficient. And this is not some sort of veiled suggestion that the Pacers should try and sign Andrew Bynum. Let him go ruin some other's team's chemistry, an element that is more important in basketball than any other sport. Hibbert will get better. He works too hard at the game. But the team needs to see some of the fruits of his labor sooner rather than later.
Afterthoughts
It's one thing to beat the Kings and Knicks easily at home, but the Clippers, even though they didn't have point guard Chris Paul and were on the second night of a back-to-back, are obviously quite a bit better than either of those teams. This is case where the Pacers' early momentum and confidence were apparent and the Clippers, though they didn't give up in this one, just seemed to know they weren't going to win at Indiana. The Pacers improved their home record to 21-1, a pretty daunting number for opponents to consider before they even set foot on the Bankers Life Fieldhouse Court.
Next Up
The Pacers begin their second five-game Western Conference road swing with a 10:30 p.m. Monday game at Golden State. The Warriors have a 26-16 record, so they are not quite challenging Portland, San Antonio and Oklahoma City for the conference's best record, but they are right there with those teams in terms of being a difficult opponent. They are led by guard Stephen Curry at 23 points and nine assists per game, David Lee at 19 points and almost 10 rebounds, Klay Thompson at 19 points, Harrison Barnes at 10 points, Andre Iguodala and the recently acquired Jordan Crawford at nine points, and Andrew Bogut at eight points and 10 rebounds. The Warriors also have former Pacer point guard Mark Jackson in his third season as coach. And really, it's no surprise at all that Jackson has helped make the Warriors relevant again in the West given how smart of a player he was. And having that Curry guy helps, too. Curry and Thompson will test the Pacers perimeter defense, too, as they each average three 3-pointers a game.