“The situation, obviously, you try to get the ball to Paul,” said Miles, in his 12th NBA season though he’ll only turn 30 on Tuesday. “Everybody in the gym knows that. Everybody sitting on the couch at home knows that.
“They double-teamed him. The first time they did it [on an inbounds play with 20 seconds left], I tried to get it back to him. The second time, I got the ball, four seconds and counting down, my best read was to make a play.”
The idea of looking back to George then didn’t make sense to Miles.
“Trying to go back to half court or holding it to get it back to him, we wouldn’t have gotten a good shot,” he said. “I’m one of the best shooters in our league. That’s proven. I’ve been doing it all year. I’ve made that shot many times. If I get another chance in that situation, I’m gonna be aggressive and ... I’m gonna make that shot.
“I did what I was supposed to do. That’s why I was on the floor.”
Miles wasn’t embarrassed or bothered that George, after the game, had made it sound as if he’d done something wrong.
“He should want the shot. I have no problem with him saying that,” Miles said. “We wanted to get him the shot. There’s no miscommunication about that. But that’s just how the play went down. And I made the read I was supposed to make. Left it a little short.”
- CJ Miles