Clippers’ Eric Gordon enjoys a get-together

NBA game time was less than an hour away, but the coach had his eyes fixed firmly on the court.

He was watching the kids play a truncated game -- defense first, please -- and was paying special attention to a sixth-grader wearing No. 21 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

“He’ll block this shot,” the coach and father predicted.

Two, three seconds later, it happened. Apparently, this basketball father knew best.

The coach and father was Eric Gordon Sr., and the shot blocker was Eron Gordon, the youngest brother of Clippers shooting guard Eric Gordon, and there’s already buzz about how good the pre-teen eventually will be.

But why wasn’t he wearing No. 10 in honor of his brother?

“He usually wears No. 10,” Eric Gordon Jr. said. “But he can choose a different number. He’s pretty good. He’s tall for his age, about 5-8, 5-9. He just turned 12.

“Whatever he can do, he’ll do it. Score, everything.”

There was a decided family and friends vibe in Indianapolis, which happened to coincide with the return of Gordon to the Clippers’ lineup after he sat out eight consecutive games because of a strained groin.

Gordon planned to stay over and have Thanksgiving with his family and rejoin the Clippers later Thursday.

On Wednesday, Gordon had a meet-and-greet session with about 500 people. And he also visited the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana and is sponsoring the yearly cost of a room. The number of the room? No. 10.

Gordon, understandably, was rusty on the court in the Clippers’ loss to Indiana, shooting two for seven from the field overall and taking only two shots from the field in the second half.

“I just thought it was time for me to come back and it was the right time,” Gordon said.

lisa.dillman@latimes.com

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