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In the last few weeks, veteran guard Austin Rivers has stepped into a more prominent offensive role for the injury-ridden L.A. Clippers.
The 25-year-old has taken that up a notch over the last couple of games as he dropped a career-high 38 points in Saturday's 115-112 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. According to Clevis Murray of Fansided, this latest feat has made him the first Clippers player to notch back-to-back 35-point outings for the team since All-star forward Blake Griffin.
Austin Rivers is the first Clipper to score at least 35 points in consecutive games since Blake Griffin in 2014. He's the first Clipper guard to do so since Ron Harper in 1989.
— Clevis Murray (@ClevisMurray) December 24, 2017
Rivers has taken full advantage of the extended playing time with both Patrick Beverley and Milos Teodosic out of the lineup for an extended period of time. Although Teodosic made his return on Saturday night, the former Duke product remained a significant factor offensively hitting an efficient 14 out of 20 shots from the field including five three-pointers.
He has taken his offensive production up another notch in December averaging 20.9 points on 46.3 percent shooting from the field and 44.9 percent from beyond the arc in 10 games played. This has been a significant part of what has been his breakout year currently averaging a career-high 16.2 points on 42 percent shooting from the field and a career-best 41 percent from three-point range.
His offensive production has brought much-needed stability to the Clippers, who have been without Griffin and veteran forward Danilo Gallinari due to injuries. With both expected to be out for at least the next couple of weeks, it could lead to more huge performances from Rivers.
