Getty Images Doc Rivers, Head Coach for The Los Angeles Clippers
Though some may say blood is thicker than water, that was not the case in Wednesday’s game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets. The intensity heightened late in the fourth quarter when Clippers guard Patrick Beverley fouled out against Rockets star James Harden.
Crunch time got the best of Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, who became angry at a ref and began yelling on the sidelines. Rockets guard Austin Rivers, who also happens to be Doc’s son taunted his dad and threw up “technical” signs, initiating his dad’s ejection. Doc Rivers was then seen being escorted out of the game shortly after. And in the end, the Clippers were unable to catch up to the Rockets and ended up losing 102-93.
Austin Rivers was calling for his dad to get T’d up 😂
Doc Rivers Ejection
It was clear the Clippers were in outrage when Patrick Beverley received his last foul of the game. As Beverley walked to the bench and Harden went to the line to shoot free throws, Rivers was not having it. He began to go into a frenzy and no one off the court seemed to know why. Rivers was waiving his hands in the air and he was yelling, as he seemed to be in some sort of disagreement with the refs. In a post game interview Rivers explained what happened. Per Andrew Greif, Clippers writer for the L.A. Times, Rivers said, “the refs screwed up. I made a challenge, they actually said I was right in the challenge but I took over the 30 second time to call it.”
Here’s Doc’s explanation for why he was ejected and what led to it.
Rivers continued to explain that because he was correct in his challenge, the refs told him he would still get his timeout back. Now, Rivers and his team were under the impression that they still had two timeouts. But, this was not the case. Rivers called one timeout and then was told he had no more. If he had known that, he would not have called the last timeout and that is why the entire team reacted.
“The officials can’t tell me that I get my timeout back and then have me use it and then tell me after the fact, ‘you don’t have it,'” Rivers said.
Doc Rivers: Coaches Challenge
The Clippers head coach is now 0 for 3 with challenges. Rivers’ most famous challenge was one against the Milwaukee Bucks. With 7:18 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Clippers Lou Williams fouled Milwaukee Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe, or rather, Bledsoe fouled Williams with his face. After a replay of the foul, it was only clear that the Bucks player exaggeratedly flopped.
Here’s the play where Eric Bledsoe leans into Lou Williams’ space, then sells an offensive foul call.
This wasn’t enough evidence for the officials, as they upheld their decision to rule an offensive foul against Williams. Rivers didn’t hesitate to rip into the refs in a post-game interview. As reported by Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints, Rivers said about the challenge, “That was awful. It was. They should have overturned it. It’s why I hate the rule. Nobody wants to be wrong, let me say that. You have to overturn that. Unless Bledsoe fouled Lou with his face, there was no foul, it was a flop.”
Clippers vs. Rockets
Getty ImagesPatrick Beverley of the Los Angeles Clippers blocking the shot of the Houston Rockets’ James Harden
The Clippers put up a tough fight against the Rockets, but unfortunately could not match their intensity. The Rockets came out hungry and their star player Harden dropped a total of 47 points, leading the team to victory. This was the beard’s fifth game to drop at least 40 points this season. He also got six rebounds and seven assists.
The Clippers again could not perform offensively. They began on a rocky start as they were outscored 31-15 in the first 12 minutes. The game only got worse for the team. The Clippers ended the game with Patrick Beverley fouling out, Doc Rivers getting ejected and an overall loss to the Rockets, 102-93. The Clippers now head to the second half of their back-to-back schedule tomorrow night against the New Orleans Pelicans. Though the Klaw most likely will sit out in tomorrow night’s game, fans can expect to see a PG-13 debut.