There haven’t been too many close games in the Orlando Summer League, so when we get one, it is interesting to see how the rookies react.  Sure, they have been in late game situations before during their prep/college career, but they never had to face this type of situation during their short stint as pros.  Paul George found himself in a close late game situation yesteday, and he stepped up big time…On both ends of the court:

We have the Celtics point guard dribbling out the shot clock before he sets up the offense.  With a 12 second differential between the shot clock and the game clock, the Pacers decide to defend straight up and not foul.

With about 8 seconds left on the shot clock, the Celtics get into their offense, running a pick and pop type of play.

The Celtics’ point guard can’t find a lane to drive and ends up dribbling to the wing.  This is where the first mistake takes place.  The Celtics’ point guard picks up his dribble before deciding what to do with it.

The second mistake is the lack of communication between the two Celtics’ cutters.  They both cut to the same area, clogging the lane and drawing defenders, one of them being Paul George.

George reacts to the bounce pass, gets his hands on it, and makes the steal.  He dribbles it to the frontcourt, where the Pacers call a timeout with 10 seconds left.  Here is the play in real time:

After the timeout, the Pacers had the ball down two with 8.7 seconds left.

First off, props to the Pacers’ coaching staff, this is a really well drawn up play.  To start off, the Pacers have two screens being set.  One is Rolle setting a downscreen for the PG, attempting to free him up and get the ball.  The second screen is George setting a backscreen for the Pacers’ shooting guard.

After the two screens get set, Rolle sets a screen for George, giving you a little screen the screener action.  George comes off the screen and curls it behind the three point line.

The way George is curling himself, it looks like the play was supposed to be for a three pointer.  However, the inbounds pass is a lobbed one, and that forces George to adjust his body position.

George does a nice job of staying calm, making the catch, and observing the situation.  Rather than scrambling behind the three point line, George notices that his defender is closing out too hard on him, giving up the baseline.  Paul George takes a quick first step and attacks the baseline.

Paul George finishes strong at the rim with a reverse lay-in, getting fouled at the same time.  George makes the free throw, giving the Pacers the lead and eventually the win.  Here is the play in real time: