ATLANTA -- Paul George said he's "all right" and expects to be able to play Friday against the LA Clippers after leaving with a groin injury in the third quarter of the Oklahoma City Thunder's 119-107 victory over the Hawks on Tuesday.
"Yeah, I'll be all right, I'll be all right," George said. "It's three days until the game, three or four days, so I'll be all right."
George will be re-evaluated on Wednesday back in Oklahoma City.
"We're going to closely monitor it, be cautious," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said.
George came down awkwardly going for a loose ball and was very slow to get up after the play. He stayed in the game briefly trying to walk off injury, before leaving to go to the locker room, where he remained for the rest of the game.
With George sidelined, Russell Westbrook took over in the fourth quarter to register his 21st triple-double of the season and the 100th triple-double of his career with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists.
"Everybody knows how competitive he is," George said of Westbrook. "That's all you see him display is the competitiveness, the never giving up. That's what Russ is: a guy that's never gonna give up, and he's gonna play every possession. So, you've got a guy like that, he's not gonna allow a team to lose."
Following Tuesday's contest, George was moving around without any kind of a limp or apparent pain, laughing and joking with teammates in what was a very noisy and lively locker room.
George finished with 12 points on 5 of 12 shooting in 26 minutes.
