Clippers star Paul George shuts down Dunk Contest after windmill dunk vs. Spurs

01/27/2023 09:36 AM

Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers are streaking, with their four consecutive wins now the second-longest active winning streak behind the Philadelphia 76ers. Thursday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, the final game before a six-game road trip, saw the Clippers lead wire-to-wire in a 138-100 victory. George finished with a game-high 35 points on 14-of-19 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 from 3-point range. One of those buckets was a thunderous windmill dunk off a steal in the second quarter: PAUL GEORGE WINDMILL DUNK pic.twitter.com/o3Z20ERrwf — Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) January 27, 2023 The dunk was the first time in weeks that George had showed the pop that fans are used to seeing him play with. After the game, George was asked by ClutchPoints whether that was a sign that he was interested in participating in the 2023 Slam Dunk Contest at NBA All-Star Weekend. “Not at all,” Clippers star Paul George said with a smile and head shake. “Not at all. You will not see 13 in Dunk Contest. That was fun when I was young. But during All-Star week, less is more.” Me: "Was that your sign that you want to do the Dunk Contest?" Paul George: "Not at all. You will not see 13 in the Dunk Contest." PG adds: "My body has been feeling pretty good. Been working a ton to stay healthy and keep it that way. I felt good tonight." pic.twitter.com/v7PEv4u5O6 — Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) January 27, 2023 The dunk, however, did serve as a bit of an indicator that George is feeling good physically. “Yeah, my body has been feeling pretty good. I’ve been working a ton to stay healthy and keep it that way. But yeah, I felt good tonight.” George threw down the dunk and immediately blew kisses to someone sitting in the front row. “That’s to my number one supporter, my mom,” Paul George explained. “I blew a kiss to my mom. Usually both of my parents are there. My dad was sitting elsewhere tonight with family. But, yeah, it was just I looked up at the first person I seen and, obviously, my mom is again my backbone. So that was for her in that, in that moment.” WARNING Please be advised this dunk is rated PG-13. pic.twitter.com/mV5NJ1AgM0 — LA Clippers (@LAClippers) January 27, 2023 Beyond the monster dunk, the Clippers have put together a winning streak that has them sitting in a tie for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. The New Orleans Pelicans, who are essentially tied with them, have lost six in a row as Zion Williamson continues to miss time. Brandon Ingram just returned from a two-month absence. “Best four-game stretch on the season. We’re playing well, we’re playing well. Really everything is kind of falling into place at this point with being healthy and starting to figure out our rotations and I think everybody rhythm and timing.” The Western Conference’s 4-13 seeds are separated by just three games. The Clippers are fourth, at 27-24, and the Los Angeles Lakers are 13th, at 23-26. A winning streak of six or seven games could create some serious separation. Conversely, slipping and losing three or four in a row could put you in a massive hole as well. “I think we’re in the race and we’re just looking straight to be honest,” George said. “We’re not looking in the rear view. We’re looking straight in the race and where we finish is where we finish. I think for us, of course we wanna lock up the spot. That’s first and foremost. But I think if we start looking then there’s a panic mode going on. We just take it one game at a time and just address the season as it comes. We’ll get to where we want to get to. We like any matchup that we get matched up with. I’ve never been someone that looked ahead and looked at the standings to see who’s doing what. Cause we got a group that can play with any team and for us we just gotta play the right way and get there. And then from there, anything can happen.” A tough six-game road trip awaits Paul George and the Clippers, however. They’ll be visiting the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, and both New York teams in a span of 10 days. George says it’ll be a good measuring stick trip for the Clippers after taking down a number of lowly opponents in the Spurs, Lakers, and Rockets of late. “It’s gonna be a challenge. It’s no night off on any one of these games. But it’s a good test. It’s a good test. We’ll be tested against six playoff teams. We just gotta accept the challenge. We’re playing well. That’s just what it comes down to. No pressure on it other than to continue to play how we’ve been playing. We started our streak on the road, came home, picked up two good wins, and now it’s time to put it together. The road is what we always feel is the best part of it because you get to be together more, in longer stints. We’re looking forward to it.” The Clippers kick the six-game road trip off with a back-to-back set against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. The post Clippers star Paul George shuts down Dunk Contest after windmill dunk vs. Spurs appeared first on ClutchPoints.