The Pacers defending their home court on Monday, beating the Lakers 89-87 thanks in part to some late game heroics from Paul George.
George scored 14 points in the first half, but was quiet for much of the second half. All seven of his points in the second half came with less than two minutes to go. Two of those points came when George got the ball beyond the three-point and drove to the basket past Kobe Bryant for a layup, drawing a foul on Brandon Bass in the process.
The look on Kobe’s face afterward says it all. It’s a young man’s game and that’s not Bryant anymore. After the game, George talked about his drive past Bryant to give the Pacers the lead and brought up that Bryant is, well, old.
At one time, it was Kobe using his explosive first step to leave defenders on the perimeter like their feet were stapled to the floor. Now, the shoe is on the other foot and it’s Bryant getting left behind by younger players like Paul George.
