Austin Rivers Crosses Himself Over, Still Scores 17 Points in Win over Rockets

Doc Rivers drew the blade over his palm and wiped the sticky blood on the face of his only begotten NBA-caliber son.

“Go now, lull them to sleep with your moon-eyed convulsions, and when they are weakest, strike with a horrifying vengeance,” Doc told Austin, completing the playoff seance. 

This is how I imagine it went—the Los Angeles Clippers head coach preparing his son for Monday night’s game against the Houston Rockets—an unlikely 117-101 win for a Clippers team starting one Austin Rivers in lieu of one hobbled Chris Paul. 

Some sort of weird, shamanistic ritual is the only way to explain the eerie doldrums that fell over the playoff crowd at the Toyota Center for Game 1. Doc Rivers ribbed Houston supporters over their silence, while Clippers fans, bracing for a hammer that never fell, slowly realized their team wasn’t destined for the wood chipper as Houston failed to find any energy or rhythm.

Austin, who started in an NBA playoff game, finished with 17 points, four steals and three assists. I swear this happened. 

It was surprising, to say the least, and considering all expectations, the performance provides a ghost of optimism for Clippers fans should Paul not be able to go for Game 2. On the other hand, Austin is still Austin, and the Clippers guard did manage some spectacularly boneheaded plays early in the going.

The one that stood out most was a turnover Austin committed in transition. He tried to go around the back, and, well, crossed himself over. Vine user Chris Ryan (h/t Grantland’s The Triangle) posted video of the turnover:

It was so close to being a good thing. Austin could’ve unwittingly passed the ball to a trailing J.J. Redick had he not clawed at it in desperation on his way to the floor.

Austin’s self-inflicted wounds are what everyone expected for the duration of the game. Between him and Lester Hudson, I figured Doc would break out the scotch tape at halftime in order to make things work.

Alas, Austin came out shooting in the third quarter, doing enough to help Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford carry Los Angeles past the soggy carcass of a Houston team that seemingly wished it could just simulate the series NBA 2K-style and advance.

Nope. Not with weird Austin and his blood magic. No one’s getting a pass.

Dan is on Twitter, studying the Austin enigma.