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After George leaped into the rafters to impale the 6-foot-10 Chris Andersen with a dunk, James rushed the ball down the floor and hit a 30-footer at the buzzer of the third period. It was a magnificent sequence, two spectacular plays within a 5.1-second window that inspired James to change direction on his way to the Heat's huddle. James chased down George, reached out his hand and pressed palm on palm. "I got you back, young fella," James told him. For a moment, George had to gather himself. Here unfolded a most surreal scene in a surreal rise out of mid-major college basketball, the evolution of James' dutiful understudy into James' problem. "That was a moment for me," George said, "that I'll always remember." Yahoo! Sports

Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, LeBron James, Paul George 

"I've got the most respect for LeBron," George said. "I look up to him." Ten months ago, this was George's mandate: Get into Bryant and Durant, Anthony and James. Get into the NBA's biggest stars and learn the most valuable lessons of all. "I want to be great," George said. "I want to be a leader in this league. For me, that was a front-row seat for how to be one of the best players in this league." Yahoo! Sports

Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, LeBron James, Paul George 

Pacers forward Paul George on not having Hibbert in the game: “It was different. I’m used to being aggressive. That’s the reason why I was aggressive. I’m used to having Roy back there. But, again, me being in that situation, I’ve got to know who’s on the floor with me and know what we want from LeBron.” Miami Herald

Indiana Pacers, Paul George, Roy Hibbert 

Darnell Mayberry: Dwyane Wade, James Harden, Paul George, David Lee and Dwight Howard made Third Team All-NBA. Twitter @DarnellMayberry

Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Dwyane Wade, Paul George, Dwight Howard, David Lee, James Harden 

Jeff Zillgitt: Paul George: "I have to understand you have to make LeBron shoot a jumper at that point." Twitter @JeffZillgitt

Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, LeBron James, Paul George, Roy Hibbert 

Chris Tomasson: LeBron James on Paul George: "He’s one of the up-and-coming new superstars that we have in our league. He’s a kid who loves to get better." Twitter @christomasson

Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, LeBron James, Paul George 

There’s no better place for the Pacers to get the recognition they deserve than to do it in the Mecca — Madison Square Garden, known as the world’s most famous arena, where the stars sit courtside and the crowd will be so loud fans can’t hear the person next to them. “It’s going to be 10 times harder, it being in New York,” Pacers swingman Paul George said. “We know how well they play at home, so it’s going to take a great effort, so we’ll see where we’re at.” Indianapolis Star

Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Paul George 

“We just stay level-headed. We don’t get too high, we don’t get too low,” said Pacers All-Star Paul George. “When teams go on a run, we do a good job in staying together, not calling other guys out. We’re a family here. Everybody’s on the same page.” NBA.com

Indiana Pacers, Paul George 

Start with lots of George Hill, who did his best work of the night in that crucial third quarter stretch. “I tell George all the time, he’s just as good as any point guard in this playoff run right now,” Pacers All-Star Paul George said. “He plays at that level, we’ve got a chance to go far.” New York Post

Indiana Pacers, Paul George, George Hill 

Metta World Peace: Paul George is playing well. Never knew he was that good. Thumbs up Twitter @MettaWorldPeace

Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Paul George, Metta World Peace 

Small forward Paul George, who was named to the second team, called Hibbert "the best center, defensively, guarding the rim, easily…If I made it, he should've made it." New York Daily News

Indiana Pacers, Paul George, Roy Hibbert 

Eric Koreen: NBA 1st-team all defence: LeBron, Ibaka, Chandler + Noah (tie), Allen, Paul. 2nd team: Duncan, George, M. Gasol, Bradley, Conley. Twitter @ekoreen

LeBron James, Chris Paul, Paul George, Avery Bradley, Tyson Chandler, Tony Allen, Mike Conley, Joakim Noah, Tim Duncan, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka 

Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert had the best playoff game of his career on Saturday, and very nearly followed it up with the greatest press-conference fashion statement of all time. When the big man took to the podium after the game, he began by explaining that he almost wore a monocle until teammate Paul George talked him out of it. For The Win

Indiana Pacers, Paul George, Roy Hibbert 

Fred Kerber: #Pacers Paul George told of #Knicks JR Smith allegedly clubbing with Rihanna asked who he's partied with: "I don’t really go out like that" Twitter @FredKerber

Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Paul George, JR Smith 

Brian Mahoney: Paul George, on what happened in this game: "Melo just caught fire." Twitter @briancmahoney

Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George 

In early November, Brian Shaw called George into his office to show him an article listing contract extensions signed by a number of members of the 2009 draft class. James Harden signed for $80 million over five years with the Houston Rockets. Holiday, George’s AAU teammate, got a four-year, $41 million deal from the Philadelphia 76ers. DeMar DeRozan, another product of California, signed with the Toronto Raptors for four years and more than $38 million. "You’re still on your rookie contract," Shaw said to George, who will be eligible for an extension this offseason, "but you have to put the pressure on this team to do the same thing with you. And the only way that that’s going to happen is you gotta be consistent and you gotta show it in your play." SB Nation

Indiana Pacers, Paul George, Brian Shaw 

There was no team meeting telling George he should score 30 points per game -- not on a team with as many offensive options as Indiana -- but Shaw told him he had to play aggressively. He told him that if the Pacers improved this season, it would be because of his growth. They knew what to expect out of forward David West, center Roy Hibbert and guard George Hill. The same couldn’t be said for George as a featured part of the attack. "I knew coming into my third year I was going to have to have a huge year," said George. "And with Danny (Granger) being out it really magnified on the performances I was going to have to have, the consistency I was going to have to keep." SB Nation

Indiana Pacers, Paul George 

“Ivan Johnson, he knows how to get under your skin, one of those old school trash talkers,” Pacers swingman Paul George said. Indianapolis Star

Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Paul George, Ivan Johnson 

There is more statistical evidence of the stark contrast of the Hawks’ play since the lineup change. In Games 1 and 2, the lopsided Pacers victories at home, Smith had a combined plus/minus rating of minus-29. In Games 3 and 4, the one-sided Hawks wins, Smith had a combined plus-34. “Josh has not done a good job; he’s done a superb job in defending Paul George,” Drew said. “Paul is still going to score because he’s that good, but the thing is you have to make him work. I think Josh is doing a good job with that.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Paul George, Larry Drew 

It’s understandable to lose 11 straight in San Antonio, as the Pacers have. It’s not understandable to lose 12 consecutive times in Atlanta, where the Hawks have been beacons of mediocrity over the years. “I have no theory why,” Paul George said after the Pacers practiced in advance of Monday night’s Game 4. “Sometimes we’ve played well down here and lost. Sometimes, like (Saturday night), we’ve played poorly and lost. I couldn’t give you a reason.” Indianapolis Star

Indiana Pacers, Paul George