Less than 24 hours after LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers edged the Pacers 135-130 in double overtime, the four-time NBA MVP showed love to Paul George. While basketball is a team sport, James and George were in the spotlight Sunday evening.
James recorded a triple-double with 41 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists in 52 minutes so late into the season. George, meanwhile, had 43 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists in 48 minutes.
And George, a four-time All-Star, was responsible for 19 of Indiana’s 26 points in the extra sessions.
In the Instagram post James shared with his nearly 30 million followers, he wrote: “Nothing but love and respect @ygtrece! Love the battle last night bro!! Glad to see u back to where u belong. #YoungKing13 #striveforgreatness”
[VIDEO: LeBron James on facing the Pacers, Paul George]
This Sunday duel had the feel of the 2013 and 2014 playoffs when the Pacers pushed the Miami Heat in back-to-back Eastern Conference finals matchups. The Heat obviously prevailed and went on to win the NBA title in 2013 when many Pacers felt that despite losing in Game 7, they were “just 12 minutes away” from the NBA Finals.
The post above continues to show mutual respect between James and George, both signature shoe athletes with Nike. After Sunday’s win, the two spoke for about 30 seconds. James covered up his mouth with his jersey so that lip readers couldn’t make out what he had to say to the Pacers’ star.
The Cavaliers (49-27) are currently second in the East and the Pacers (37-40) are ninth with six and five games left, respectively. Depending on how things shake out over the final two weeks of the season, it sure would be fun to see this head-to-head battle again in the postseason.
I really don’t think that PG-13 needs cudos from LBJ, if anything, it should be the other way around. PG-13 doesn’t have a say who else is on the Pacers, whereas, LBJ tells a team who he wants on a team, before he even signs with said team.
LeBron is a top-10 player all-time and someone he looked up to. Paul appreciates the love from guys like Kobe and LeBron. And now they are signature shoe athletes with Nike together.
LeBron has been where Paul is, with a team that is a borderline playoff team. Paul can learn from his experience and guidance.