Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers could not have been more pleased to see his father, Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, ejected during Wednesday night's game. As seen in the footage embedded below, Doc was tossed late in the fourth quarter for arguing with official Tony Brothers while Austin encouraged Brothers to send him packing.
Doc was pissed because he was originally informed that he had two timeouts remaining after the Clippers attempted to challenge a call on the floor, but was later told, with 1:31 remaining, that he had just used his final timeout. Whatever the case may be, Austin made the most of his father's on-court tirade. When asked if he enjoyed the two techs and ejection on his father, Austin smiled and said, "I did."
Per ESPN:
"I knew it was coming. I could see it. I've seen that look before -- many times. Once he starts blinking his eyes fast, and he starts [imitates Doc getting mad], that's when I know he is about to level up. So I just started telling Tony to get him. They got him. He's out of here."
"I was just trying to help out the situation," Austin Rivers deadpanned. "Listen, guys, I don't ever like to escalate anything. Y'all don't know me for that. I've always been a peacemaker. That's just 100 percent Doc's gotta keep his cool."
The Rockets went on to win by the final of 102-93 as they improved to 8-3 on the season. The Clippers, meanwhile, are now 7-4 as they prepare for a Thursday night matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans.