So much for Paul George’s ridiculously efficient streak. The Thunder forward finally hit an immovable object named Jrue Holiday.
George had 28 points in Oklahoma City’s loss to New Orleans on Thursday, but it took him 29 shots and it wasn’t pretty. Over his last 10 games, he’d been sinking half his shots from the floor and half from three, yet the Pelicans’ stopper kept him to 38 percent shooting, including a dismal 3-of-17 from three. Holiday has a way of frustrating the most prolific scorers. He ate up James Harden, too.
Holiday is a muscly pest who’s very difficult to shake with a move, lose on a screen, or overwhelm with size. He has a remarkable sense of timing that lets him disrupt the play even if an opponent does happen to get a step on him. It didn’t really matter that George was five inches taller. Nobody in the league can time these sneaky perimeter blocks quite like Holiday does:
Holiday is averaging nearly a block a game, which is a little absurd for a 6-foot-4 point guard. The list of players his size or smaller who have logged that many blocks in a season is pretty short (and it’s mostly Dwyane Wade, probably the best shot-blocking guard ever).
Holiday finished with 32 points, five rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and these three rejections.
It can’t be all fancy dunks all the time here. Defensive highlights are like eating vegetables, so enjoy some roughage courtesy of Jrue. The Pelicans need something to keep their spirits up in these bleak times.