Doc Rivers is a coach first and father second when on the sidelines for the Los Angeles Clippers, but the pride was evident on his face as he watched his son, Austin, eviscerate the Houston Rockets in the second half of the team's 124-99 blowout Game 3 win.
With the Clippers looking to rest Chris Paul for an extended period in the third quarter with CP3 hobbling noticeably on his injured hamstring, the team's offense filtered through Austin Rivers.
Game. Set. Match.
Rivers responded by absolutely taking over the court, eliciting repeated chants of "AUSTIN RIVERS" as he surged through heat check filled with clutch shots, impressive drives to the rack, and lockdown defense. His heroics in the third keyed a 35-point outburst that turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 23-point laugher.
The game was essentially over from there, as Houston looked rattled during the slow fourth-quarter crawl to a 2-1 series deficit (more on the anger later).
Key Number: 55.4%, 23-0
While Houston struggled to hit anything on the offensive end during a nightmarish second half, Los Angeles was on fire all night long from all over. The Clippers finished a molten 46 of 83 from the field (55.4%), including a 13 of 29 clip (44.8%) from downtown.
Also there was that scintillating 23-0 run for the Clippers in the second half which turned a competitive contest into a Clippers rout going away.
Los Angeles MVP:
Can it be anybody but Austin Rivers. With CP3 off the floor for key stretches of the game, Rivers ignited the crowd and almost singlehandedly helped the Clips pull away. He finished with 25 points (15 of those in the 3rd quarter), joining teammates JJ Redick (31 points) and Blake Griffin (22 points) above the 20-point plateau.
Houston MVP:
No one. In fact, give an anti-MVP to veteran guard Jason Terry who took a blatant cheap shot at Blake Griffin in the fourth quarter and was subsequently ejected.
The Rockets unraveled in this one and it may have huge ramifications on their confidence heading into a virtually must-win Game 4.
What's Next?
Houston gets a day to regroup before tangling with the Clippers in Los Angeles once again on Sunday. Tipoff is slated for just after 7:30pm local time.
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