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SALT LAKE CITY — There's no denying it: The LA Clippers were in trouble.
Coming off his best game of the second round, Kawhi Leonard was ruled out for Game 5 — and possibly more — as he returned home to Los Angeles following disappointing test results in his knee. LA will have a better understanding of the long-term ramifications soon enough; but on Wednesday night, they had to find a way to win, down one of their two superstars.
But they still had one.
Paul George poured in a series-high 37 points to go along with 16 rebounds and five assists, and the Clippers pushed the top-seeded Jazz to the brink of elimination with a 119-111 win Wednesday night in Vivint Arena.
The Clippers can wrap up the series with a win Friday night in Los Angeles (8 p.m. MT, ESPN).
And they can thank George for it.
"His game speaks for itself," said Clippers forward Terance Mann, who started in place of Leonard and finished with 13 points, two assists, two rebounds and two steals. "He's a great player, an all-NBA team player. He's going to go out there, give you a lot of buckets, and give you some stops.
"That's what we expect from him, and he's going to lead us that way."
Down a man — a superstar, more legend than man — and on the road in front of a hostile crowd of 18,007 in Salt Lake City, the Clippers faced a challenge as monumental as any they've faced all year.
Their biggest challenge of the year, if you believe George.
"I thought this was our toughest matchup this postseason," George told TNT courtside moments after being heckled by a merciless crowd with boos and chants of "Pushoff P." "This was the biggest game of our season, especially being down our best player."
But George knew what he had to do, too.
"I knew I had to be big tonight. It was just no secret coming into this," George later added. "I put faith in God, believed in myself, my teammates trusted me, (Clippers coach Tyronn Lue) trusted me, and I thought we just lived in the moment. We played our hearts out tonight."
Incredible. Special. The Clippers dropped big-time superlatives for George's performance, his best offensively performance since April 16 and his best rebounding effort of the season.
"What he's done for us throughout the year, you're going to have naysayers and critics, but that's what you love about the game," said teammate Reggie Jackson, who had 21 points with three 3-pointers for the Clippers. "You've got to put it behind you … and the way he handles himself was great. He was ready to put the team on his back, to carry some extra weight, and he showed why he's one of the best players in this league."
Lue wasn't surprised by George's Game 5 performance. After all, LA's other All-Star has been picking up his team all season.
The more surprising thing was something George told Lue earlier Wednesday after the Clippers' shootaround in Salt Lake City, when the whole team had come to grips with Leonard's absence ahead of Game 5.
The 31-year-old guard from Palmdale, California, turned to his coach and said two words Lue didn't expect: "Thank you." Thank you for believing in him, for trusting him all season.
Lue's response: "C'mon man; are you serious?"
"He's been big for us all season long," Lue said. "We all just stuck together and found ways to win. That's what you have to do if you want to compete for a championship."
George's response matched exactly what Lue expected — because the former Indiana star demonstrated his leadership all series — and all season.
Leonard's absence was just the latest test.
"It was a tough blow," George said. "But at the end of the day, we don't want anything but the best for Kawhi. It's a positive; he can get some rest. Hopefully we can hold it down. But it's a positive; he's got a new baby boy, and we've got a lot of love for him and his family.
"We've just got to do what we do. We've got to come together. Our season is alive because of his shouldering all the work he's done. We've got to hold it together and continue to keep this boat afloat until he returns."
Wednesday night illustrated why this year's NBA playoffs are as wide open as they've ever been, at least in modern memory; and George was a key reason why for LA.
The 6-foot-8 guard who averaged 24.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the postseason took it to another level in front of an irritated crowd in downtown Salt Lake City.
He slashed to the basket. He dropped 3 of 9 from 3-point range — and came back every time he missed one with equal or more confidence. He got to the free-throw line 11 times, making 10 foul shots.
George was a pest for the Jazz, especially on defense but also on the glass. Rudy Gobert — the NBA's three-time defensive player of the year for good reason — was held to 10 rebounds. There just weren't that many to go along.
"Tonight, he carried us," Lue said. "He had to step up in the first half, and he really dominated defensively.
"Having those rebounds was key, because there was a stretch where Gobert was hurting us on the glass. Having PG with 16 rebounds was huge."
After combining for back-to-back games of 30 points apiece for the first time with his partnership of Leonard, George was forced to be "the guy" again just two nights later. He passed the test in perhaps the biggest way possible and has the Clippers on the verge of the team's first Western Conference finals in franchise history.
And as for the hostile crowd, the back-and-forth fan interaction that George enjoyed with the loud, sold-out arena in what he hopes will be his final trip to Salt Lake City of the season?
No hard feelings, George says.
"You love it," said George, ranking Jazz fans among the best in the NBA for their support of the club, the community and the state. "As hostile as it is and as much as they're against me, they're against me for the right reasons. They love their team and are passionate."
