This was a day straight from a screenwriter's laptop, born from a script for a made-for-TV movie that might have been a bit too strong on the sappy side, but still one of those feel-good yarns with a happy ending.
Paul George returned to the Pacers Sunday, playing his first game for them since May 30 of last year and his first game for anybody since Aug. 1. It went better than anyone had a right to expect, as he scored 13 points in 14 ½ minutes, hitting 3-of-6 3-pointers before an adoring sellout crowd, and oh yeah — the Pacers picked up a 112-89 victory over Miami that was essential to their hopes of squeezing into a playoff spot.
That almost seemed secondary to the day's drama, however, which had been building for eight months. George, the Pacers' franchise player, made it all the way back after breaking his right leg in a horrific-looking accident in a Team USA scrimmage in Las Vegas. All the way back despite all of the preseason assumptions that he wouldn't be seen in a uniform until the 2015-16 season. Not all the way back to where he was a year ago, when he was an All-Star starter and third-team All-NBA selection, but back enough to play in a real game. And contribute.
When he left the game to a standing ovation with 7:46 left, all but 26 seconds of his 15-minute restriction drained, coach Frank Vogel intercepted him on his way to the bench with a man-hug. “Damn, I missed you,” Vogel said.
But that was merely the closing moment of an action-packed day that saw a mountain of love dumped on the 24-year-old, who's already experienced a lifetime of drama. Before that, he passed through the following scenes:
His daughter Olivia, about one-year-old, was staying with him. She helped make him tired and assure a good night's sleep.
He attended church that morning at his sister's urging, one he had not attended before. The minister offered him praise during the service and met with him privately afterward. That helped relax him, he said.
Mike Krzyzewski, coach of Team USA and of the Duke team that will play for the NCAA championship on Monday, met with him before the game to offer good wishes. “It meant everything,” George said. “It's almost like I've played for him my whole life. (He's) one of the best human beings in the world.”
John Schnatter, owner of the Papa John's pizza chain, for whom George does commercials, was sitting in the front row, before giving up his seats to George's parents, who flew in from California for the occasion. Even with his shaky eyesight, George could pick them out because they were dressed in Easter green. He called his dad's suit a “gutsy outfit.”
Martin Dempsey, a four-star general and the United States current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff presented him an honorary dog tag in a pre-game ceremony, something George had missed when Team USA played in Europe after he was injured.
And then there were the fans, 18,000 of them, many of them holding yellow signs that read “Welcome Back PG.” They cheered him when he took the court, cheered more loudly when he reported to the scorer's table to enter the game with 5:34 left in the first quarter and exploded when he hit his first shot attempt, an off-balance 14-footer after curling off Roy Hibbert's screen.
“It was what I dreamed of,” he said.
George missed his next four shots, including a breakaway layup in the final minute of the quarter when it appeared he couldn't decide whether to dunk or lay the ball in the basket, but he opened the second period with a 3-pointer from the left corner. That was the one that made him feel like he was back. And he went on to hit two more 3-pointers in the fourth quarter – a quick catch-and-shoot off an inbounds pass and a well-defended shot from out front moments later.
Cue the soundtrack and roll the credits. That was enough for one debut.
“I felt everything was scripted,” he said later.
Right down to his point total: 13 points in his first game wearing No. 13, having switched from No. 24 in the off-season.
All in all, it couldn't have gone any better for George. He felt some soreness but no pain after the game, and knocked off some of the rust that had accumulated over the past eight months. Well, there was the pain of the embarrassment of that missed layup in the first quarter. He was dribbling toward the basket with Luol Deng in hot pursuit, the crowd beginning to roar in anticipation of a classic PG slam. But appeared tentative and missed the shot.
“I saw Luol running me down,” George said. “I was trying to break free running from him. I saw him let up but by that time I was running too fast to stop. Which is why I'm happy I chose to come back and get some games under my feet. It was an embarrassing moment, but I'm happy to be embarrassed at this time.”
George had said he would measure his readiness for a comeback on his defense. He was pleased with himself at that end of the court, although he was surprised Miami didn't challenge him. His offense might have been a surprise to many of the fans, but not to him. He's been shooting relentlessly during the rehab process, and besides...
“I hurt my leg, not my arms,” he said.
“I knew I was going to be able to make some shots,” he said. “I was just playing with confidence, just happy to get some open looks and the ball dropped.”
Luis Scola, whose season-high 23 points and 12 rebounds were overshadowed by George's return, admitted to being surprised by what he saw.
“It's hard to do what he did,” Scola said. “He played really well. He hit a couple of long shots. Those sometimes go in, but sometimes they don't, and that got him going. But he played really, really well. I was surprised. I didn't expect him to play that well.”
George's next couple of games might be more difficult. The anticipation is gone and the home fans won't be in his corner when the Pacers take their playoff quest to New York on Wednesday and Detroit on Friday. It will be impossible to duplicate Sunday's atmosphere, and difficult to duplicate his performance. Whatever he can give from here on out will be a bonus. What he did against the Heat would certainly be welcomed, but not reasonably expected.
“I'm still going to be cautious,” Scola said. “He was out for a long time and it's very hard to play after that. It's going to take a toll at some point. It's not fair to him for us to rely on any help he can give us. He's a special player and special players can do special things, but still, it's the wrong approach to say he's going to make us qualified for the playoffs.”
But you never know. George has been full of surprises already in his career.
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