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NBA: Paul George bares dealing with depression inside bubble

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ABS-CBN News

Paul George said his shooting struggles in previous games involved a battle against anxiety and depression while confining himself inside the NBA bubble.Before leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 154-111 Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, George underwent his worst playoff shooting slump of his career.&quot;I underestimated mental health, honestly. I had anxiety. A little bit of depression. Just being locked in here. I just wasn&#x27;t there. I checked out,&quot; George said in an article posted in <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29743235/clippers-paul-george-says-dealt-anxiety-depression-bubble">ESPN.com</a> after finishing with 35 points on 12-of-18 field goal shooting to go with 4 triples.&quot;Games 2, 3, 4, I wasn&#x27;t there. I felt like I wasn&#x27;t there. Shout-out to the people that were in my corner, that gave me words. They helped big time, help get me right, [get] me back in great spirits. I can&#x27;t thank them enough.&quot;His 35 points in Game 5 was more than the 34 he produced in Games 2, 3 and 4 combined. George said he started to feel like in-game mode on the day of Game 5 after getting some help.&quot;I mean, I felt it just [at] the start [on Tuesday],&quot; George said. &quot;Talks with a psychiatrist, our team psychiatrist. I mean, I just felt it. My energy, my spirit was changed. That&#x27;s all it needed. That&#x27;s all I needed. I came here, I knew what my job was. Left it all on that court. Ready to move forward.&quot;Clippers coach Doc Rivers said they knew George wasn&#x27;t himself.He said team spoke at length at the coach&#x27;s hotel room after Game 4, in which Luka Doncic beat the Clippers at the buzzer with a 3-pointer in overtime.&quot;This is not a normal environment, OK?&quot; Rivers said. &quot;It just isn&#x27;t.&quot;PG and I sat in my room after the game. We just had a long talk, not all about basketball, really. Several players did it. Guys were knocking on his door.&quot;For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

George said his shooting struggles in previous games involved a battle against anxiety and depression while confining himself inside the NBA bubble.

George said his shooting struggles in previous games involved a battle against anxiety and depression while confining himself inside the NBA bubble.