Clippers’ Doc Rivers was too focused to celebrate son’s great game

The television caught Chris Paul giving Clippers Coach Doc Rivers some advice: “This is one time you can be dad and not just coach,” Paul said.

Rivers’ son had scored 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the Clippres’ 124-99 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series. The younger Rivers scored as many points as the entire Rockets’ bench combined.

Paul was just giving the elder Rivers permission to let go and celebrate as a father -- but it was to no avail.

After Friday’s game when the coach was asked whether he was able to enjoy what his son had accomplished or if he was too focused on the game to take it in, Rivers pointed to the latter.

“You have to be locked in,” the coach said. “I mean, I would love to enjoy it. You enjoy it a little bit, but not really. I mean, I’m so focused on the game. Even when CP said that, it was like white noise to me.”

The Riverses were put in an interesting position when the Clippers signed Austin in January. Austin wanted to be seen as one of the guys, not the coach’s son. And Doc wanted to be seen as fair and equal.

The two have maintained that the father-son thing hasn’t at all interfered with the coach-player thing. If anything, the younger Rivers said it has just reinforced it.

“Our relationship has just kind of always been like that,” the younger Rivers said. “It’s always been coach-player. That’s the way it’s always been. He grew up in Boston, I grew up in Orlando. Every time we talk, it’s always basketball.”

The coach said it was great to watch his son have a strong game, but he would have been happy if any of his players had played so well.

“They’re all my sons,” the coach said. “I really believe that, if Lester [Hudson] or Matt [Barnes] had done the same thing, I would have been proud because I see all of them do the work.”