Paul George explodes for 43 points in OKC Thunder's 118-102 win over Miami Heat

Kyle Irving

Paul George explodes for 43 points in OKC Thunder's 118-102 win over Miami Heat image

The two Oklahoma City Thunder All-Stars showed out in Miami today.

Paul George was considered by many to be on the fringe of a starter but performances like tonight reminded us of the MVP-calibre he has been competing at all season.

The Western Conference starter went off for 43 points shooting 14-for-23 from the field converting 10 of his 16 3-point attempts. The 10 made threes were both a career-high for George and a franchise record for the Thunder.


He also had seven rebounds, five assists and two steals while going a game-best plus-28 in the plus/minus category. Oh, and he was selected for the famous Dwyane Wade jersey swap at the end of the game to cap off his stellar night.


Russell Westbrook showed out as well with a triple-double of 14 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds on an efficient shooting night going 6-for-10 from the field.

The X-factor of the night was without a doubt Dennis Schroder's 28 points off the bench. The craziest part about his scoring outburst – 24 of those 28 points came in the second quarter alone! He was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field and 4-for-4 from beyond the arc to give his team a commanding 19-point lead going into the half.

The Heat used a 21-point performance off of the bench from Kelly Olynyk to keep things interesting but they ultimately could not keep up with the Thunder's offence in this one.

OKC has now won seven games in a row and are three games back from the Golden State Warriors for first place. Miami is two games under .500 but still holds a two-game cushion for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.