Last week, in the first edition of "How it happened," we took a look at Gordon Hayward's breakout 30-point game for the Boston Celtics against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
This time, we'll zoom in a bit and break down one single play -- Paul George's late game-winning shot to get the Thunder past the pesky Nets last Wednesday.
With so many storylines flying around the league, especially in the Western Conference, it would be understandable if you haven't paid much attention to the Thunder. Yet OKC has shot up the standings, winning 10 of its last 13 games to grab first place in the Western Conference by percentage points over the Warriors.
While Russell Westbrook has been putting up his usual gaudy stats, the main catalyst behind the Thunder's strong run has been Paul George, who has been absolutely tremendous. Last week against the Nets, he turned in his best performance of the season, and arguably one of the best of his career.
He finished with 47 points and 15 rebounds on 15-of-23 shooting from the field, with 25 of those points coming in a remarkable fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining to complete the Thunder's 23-point comeback.
If you happened to watch the play live, or are just watching it here now, you might wonder how the heck a guy who already had 44 points in the game was able to get so wide open on such a crucial possession.
So let's break it down.
George's shot came off a sideline out of bounds play which began with a staggered screen on the weak side to bring Westbrook up to get the ball. This obviously isn't the main action, but it does serve a purpose. For one, it frees up Westbrook, but just as importantly, it starts to put pressure on the Nets defense.
Westbrook's man, Spencer Dinwiddie, has to fight through multiple screens just to get up to Westbrook, and as you'll notice, is never really able to get set or in a good defensive position before the triple-double machine can put the ball on the ground.
The second and main action, though, is really what makes this play work. As Westbrook goes to catch the ball, George is already coming up as if to set a screen. But before he really sets the pick, he slips through. Not toward the basket though, as most slips go, but horizontally out to the other wing.
This puts incredible amounts of pressure on the defenders, who have to react and communicate properly in a split second in order to guard this correctly. Because George sprints to the other side of the court just before he actually sets a screen, it confuses the defense.
Was there actually a screen set? Are we switching this? Defenses will obviously react one way if there's a screen set, and another if George is simply cutting through to the other wing. This time, the Nets aren't really sure, and that second of confusion dooms them.
On this play, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is definitely expecting a screen to be set, and prepares to corral the drive. Dinwiddie never actually gets screened, though, so he's still chasing Westbrook. By the time they realize what's actually going on, George is already wide open on the other wing.
Dinwiddie makes a valiant effort to contest the shot, but George simply pump fakes and lets him fly by, then resets and buries the shot.
