Pacers' Paul George on Lance Stephenson: 'He's got to learn to control himself'
Pacers guard Paul George says teammate Lance Stephenson is a leader in the locker room, but that he needs to work on controlling his emotions on the court.
George was asked about Stephenson after Monday's 117-111 Game 2 loss to the Cavaliers.
"He's got to learn to control himself. He's got to learn to just be in the moment," George said. "Lance is, in our locker room, is looked upon as a leader."
Stephenson rejoined the Pacers in March, just a couple weeks before the start of the playoffs. On Monday, he scored 13 points in 26 minutes, but he picked up four personal fouls. At one point, cameras appeared to catch Pacers coach Nate McMillan telling Stephenson to calm down.
"His body language has to improve, just for the team. We all know that Lance is an emotional guy. A lot of it is just his heart and his competitiveness," George said. "That emotion comes out on him, but he's just got to channel that, and put it towards making effort plays on the court and doing whatever he needs for us to succeed."
Stephenson helped the Pacers earn the Eastern Conference's No. 7 seed. He scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds in Saturday's one-point loss to the Cavaliers.
George scored 32 points and tallied eight rebounds and seven assists on Monday.
Cleveland leads Indiana 2-0 with the series heading to Indianapolis on Thursday.
