By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO — Whether he was burying his shots or moving the ball, Paul George seemed to make all the right decisions. The Clippers will sure take more of that.
George made six 3-pointers and scored 28 points, Kawhi Leonard added 27 and the Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls, 126-111, on Thursday night.
The Clippers regrouped after a 20-point lead late in the third quarter dwindled to eight in the fourth and stopped a two-game skid, beating Chicago for the second time in six days. Both teams were missing key players with the Clippers’ James Harden (strained left shoulder) and the Bulls’ Coby White (sore right hip) sidelined. But with All-Stars George and Leonard leading the way, the Clippers had enough to come away with the win.
“We talk about the last 20 games, putting the ball back in PG’s hands so he can get used to it so when we get to the playoffs we know exactly what we want to do,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Now, he’s just getting accustomed to running more pick-and-rolls and keeping the ball in his hands.”
George shot 11 for 12 from the field and 6 for 7 from 3-point range, one 3-pointer shy of his season high. The Clippers finished 20 for 40 from behind the arc.
George also had seven assists and just one turnover, with the Bulls often double-teaming him and Leonard.
“It was just staying under control, playing through our teammates and I think just taking what they gave us,” he said. “I didn’t think we were out of the norm, we weren’t out of character, we kind of just played our style, slowed the game down for ourselves and took the shots that were available.”
Leonard, who exited Tuesday’s loss to Minnesota because of back spasms, made 12 of 17 shots. He said he thought he got elbowed in the game against the Bulls and irritated it the next day in the loss to Milwaukee.
Norman Powell scored 18 points. Bones Hyland added 17 points and a career-high 11 assists while matching a…
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