Miles: George's gripes justifiable, but 'I did what I was supposed to' on last shot
C.J. Miles might've been the toast of the Hoosier State right now if he'd just put a little more air under his last-second shot in Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.
That shot, had it gone down, would've given the Indiana Pacers a massive road upset over the defending champs to open the playoffs. Instead, after it came up short, it left Paul George bemoaning the fact he didn't get the ball back after swinging it to Miles out of a double-team.
Miles stands firmly by his decision.
"I did what I was supposed to do," he said. "That's why I was on the floor."
But Miles also said he understands where George was coming from.
"He should want the shot," Miles said of George on Sunday, according to NBA.com's Steve Aschburner. "I have no problem with him saying that. "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."
George initially received the inbound with 10.6 seconds left, and milked a bit of clock dribbling at the top of the arc before the Cavs brought a high, two-man trap. George passed it off to Miles on the left wing, and Miles immediately made a move toward the basket, stopping short with a pump-fake and getting a pretty clean look from 20 feet out. George had circled back toward Miles looking to get the ball back, but he was about 10 feet behind the 3-point line, and the Pacers were down to about four seconds.
"Trying to go back to half court or holding it to get it back to him, we wouldn't have gotten a good shot," Miles 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."
George also conceded, after going back and watching the play, that Miles had made the right choice, though that didn't seem to make George any less sore about the way things ended.
"A lot of me, of course, being the leader of this team wants the last shot, and wants the game to be decided by me," he said. "But at the same time, I've got to have trust for my teammates. C.J. has been in that position in this season where I needed him to make a big shot. And I've kicked it to him and he's made the big shot.
"I thought he had a good look. A very makeable shot for C.J. But I was selfish in the moment. I wanted that shot in that moment."