Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers displayed quite a bit of bounce as a standout prep product at Winter Park in Florida. Russell Westbrook might have heard.
But it is probably pretty fair to say he took the Oklahoma City Thunder by surprise by throwing down a vicious jam on Thursday afternoon in Game 2 of the Rockets-Thunder series.
Rivers drove right past Chris Paul, finishing with a ferocious right-handed dunk and staring at the Rockets bench after putting the hammer down.
Austin Rivers embodying his inner Russ https://t.co/mR25DtzO51
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) August 20, 2020
It was hardly Rivers' only highlight of the first half. He also put Thunder big man Nerlens Noel on skates before finding Ben McLemore for a corner triple.
Austin Rivers BREAKS Nerlens Noel and dishes it to McLemore for the triple 🤭pic.twitter.com/xYHbu2Dkie
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) August 20, 2020
Rivers has suddenly become a critical member of the Rockets' backcourt with Russell Westbrook still sidelined due to a quad injury.
The former Duke star struggled to get in rhythm in Game 1, shooting just 1-for-5 from the field. But Rivers has also remodeled himself as a sturdy perimeter defender and a decent playmaker on both ends. He showed as much on Thursday afternoon with a pair of big plays for the Rockets.
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