MRI confirms calf strain for Paul George, not serious

Basketball fans held their breath Wednesday at the sight of Paul George fouling to take himself out of the game. It happened 83 seconds into the fourth quarter of the Pacers’ regular-season finale in Memphis.

George was diagnosed on site with a left calf strain. He has since gotten an MRI, which confirmed the trainer’s opinion.

“There’s no timetable on his recovery but it’s not considered serious,” coach Frank Vogel said Friday after his end of the season wrap-up press conference.

The good news is that it’s not an injury to the right leg he fractured on August 1, but instead his left one. Overcompensating and an increased workload was likely the cause.

George was carried back to the locker room by teammates David West and Donald Sloan.

“I just came off a screen and felt a pop,” George told reporters in Memphis after the game. “They looked at it, and it’s nothing more than just a calf strain. It’s tough. I worked so hard in rehab to come back and to have something else pop up now, it’s tough. The good thing is that I have a long summer and a lot to look forward to. It wasn’t my right leg. It was my left leg. It’s fine.”

George, who wasn’t 100 percent in the first place, pushed to return — and was cleared by the team’s medical staff — so that he could play in a handful of games before a long offseason.

“He was able to come back and play this year, which was good for him,” Pacers President Larry Bird said Friday. “I enjoyed it because I like to see him on the court. He probably didn’t play as well as he would’ve liked, but I think mentally it’s a good start for him.

“He’s got a tough road ahead of him. He’s still got a lot of work to do. But he’s excited about it and hopefully next year when he comes back he’ll be close to 100 percent.”