Austin Rivers went off for a career-high 41 points in the Houston Rockets’ 129-112 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.
Rivers shot the lights out all night, going 14-20 from the field and 6-11 from downtown.
”He’s been playing well and obviously, tonight was his night,” Mike D’Antoni told reporters after the game. ”He played great.”
Rivers was stepping up in place of Russell Westbrook, who missed his second straight game with a bruised right quadriceps.
“I believe I’m a premier scorer. That’s just how I feel,” Rivers said.
”But I’m on a team where that’s not required of me. Every night I play with the best scorer in the NBA, and I play with one of the other best scorers too with James (Harden) and Russ. So you’ve got to play a role and buy in. That’s what winning basketball is.”
The win saw the Rockets improve to 4-1 in bubble play and 44-25 overall.