The two Oklahoma City Thunder All-Stars showed out in Miami on Friday.
Paul George was considered by many to be on the fringe of a starter, but performances like this reminded us of the MVP level he has been competing at all season.
The Western Conference starter went off for 43 points shooting 14-for-23 from the field and converting 10 of his 16 3-point attempts. The 10 made threes were both a career-high for George and a franchise record for the Thunder.
Paul George couldn't be stopped in Miami! 😳
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 2, 2019
📊: 43 PTS | 10 3PM | 7 REB | 5 AST#ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/ADbmRk1xHI
He also had seven rebounds, five assists and two steals while going a game-best plus-28 in the plus/minus category.
Oh, and he was selected for the famous Dwyane Wade jersey swap at the end of the game to cap off his stellar night.
#OneLastDance@Yg_Trece x @DwyaneWade pic.twitter.com/oSAH531caz
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2019
Russell Westbrook showed out as well with a triple-double of 14 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds on an efficient shooting night (6-for-10 FG).
The X-factor, however, was without a doubt Dennis Schroder's 28 points off the bench. The craziest part about his scoring outburst: 24 of those 28 points came in the second quarter alone. He was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field and 4-for-4 from beyond the arc to give his team a commanding 19-point lead going into the half.
The Heat used a 21-point performance off of the bench from Kelly Olynyk to keep things interesting, but they ultimately could not keep up with the Thunder's offence in this one.
OKC has now won seven games in a row and are three games back from the Golden State Warriors for first place in the Western Conference standings. Miami is two games under .500 but still holds a two-game cushion for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.