Clippers’ Paul George, spurred by Ty Lue to lead, has 40 in win

SACRAMENTO — LA Clippers star guard Paul George was in the middle of a big second quarter when he said a technical foul “turned my aggression up.” He proceeded to take his anger out on the Sacramento Kings.

George exploded for 40 points to go with six rebounds and six assists to lead the Clippers to a 111-109 win over the Kings at the Golden 1 Center on Saturday.

George believed the Kings had their hands all over him and he let the officials know it when he was called for a technical with 2 minutes, 4 seconds left in the second quarter.

“I knew I had to be aggressive from the jump already,” George said of his scoring being fueled even more by the lack of foul calls and the technical foul. “If anything, it [was] just after being angry about that. It definitely turned my aggression up.”

With the Clippers resting Kawhi Leonard and John Wall in the first game of a back-to-back set, George scored 36 of his points in the final 31-plus minutes.

This was exactly what Clippers coach Ty Lue wanted to see from George. Earlier this month, George said Leonard was the clear No. 1 option on the team and that he was the No. 2 to show that there was no ego involved. Lue praised George, a seven-time All-Star and former MVP finalist, for setting a tone of sacrifice for the team.

But Lue also wanted to make sure that George wasn’t taking “a backseat” either, so he had a talk with George before the start of the regular season.

“I don’t think he has to change roles,” Lue said of George moving back and forth between a complementary and leading role when Leonard is playing and when Leonard isn’t. “I think he has to be aggressive. I think it is not one-two, it is one-and-one. Those two guys have to produce and perform at a high level for us to win, on both sides of the floor.

“I had that talk with PG. He is a great player, so you got to be aggressive and do what you do. You can’t take a backseat, you got to be aggressive.”

George said he understood Lue’s message to him.

“It was an easy…