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In game marred by Paul George's injury, Mason Plumlee shines

By Net Income
Ethan Miller

With a horrific injury sending Paul George to the hospital --and likely home for the year-- there was little interest, little joy in recounting what else happened in the Blue vs. White scrimmage at Las Vegas' Thomas and Mack Center Friday night.

The injury occurred with 9:33 remaining in the fourth quarter and Team White leading Team Blue 81-71. George's right leg bent sharply against the basket stanchion as he attempted to contest a layup attempt by James Harden. With George's Team USA teammates visibly upset, Coach Mike Krzyzewski ended the contest and called for prayers.

George suffered a compound fracture of the leg and immediately underwent surgery at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, with Dr. Riley Williams, team physician for Team USA and the Nets, attending. Yahoo! Sports reports George is likely out for the season, a huge blow to the Pacers' chances this season and a devastating loss for his Team USA teammates.

For Mason Plumlee, the scrimmage showed his value to the team as he and other bigs battle for places on the 12-man roster. Plumlee finished with 10 points --all in the third quarter, which he dominated early-- and four rebounds.He started slow, making defensive mistake early. In the third, he showed off his BBIQ and athleticism.  But he, too, noted that everything else was secondary to George's injury.

The scrimmage in Las Vegas was one of three exhibition or "friendly" games that Nets players participated in Friday.

In Bamberg, Germany, Sergey Karasev played limited minutes in Russia's 81-75 win over Israel.  In 14 minutes, Karasev finished with six points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals. He took only four shots, made two.

In Tepic, Mexico, Jorge Gutierrez helped the host team get past the Virgin Islands, 74-64 in the FIBA CentroBasket tournament. He, too, played limited minutes, scoring three points (on 1-of-3 shooting) and grabbing three boards in only 10 minutes.

In Slovanski Brod, Croatia, Dario Saric, the 76ers pick, led Croatia to a 69-64 win over Canada.  Bojan Bogdanovic didn't play, having just returned from the U.S.

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