BOSTON — Greivis Vasquez scored 15 points with 11 rebounds and Austin Rivers won his first NBA game against his father on Wednesday night as the New Orleans Hornets beat coach Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics 90-78.
Al-Farouq Aminu had 18 points and nine rebounds and Anthony Davis had 10 of each for New Orleans, which won for the sixth time in seven games and stopped Boston’s six-game winning streak. Austin Rivers scored eight points against his father’s team; they became the fourth father-son matchup in NBA history.
Paul Pierce scored 12 points with 10 rebounds before fouling out in the final minutes. He shot 5 for 16 from the floor and made one of seven 3-point attempts as Boston went 4 for 18 from beyond the arc. Kevin Garnett scored 15 and Rajon Rondo had 11 assists.
The Hornets were just 2 of 17 from 3-point range. But they have won eight of 12 since an 11-game losing streak that stretched through much of December.
Doc and Austin Rivers spoke briefly during pregame warmups, and Austin Rivers got a big cheer from the opposing crowd when he checked into the game with 4:19 left in the first half. Doc Rivers leaned back to say something to the assistant coaches sitting behind him and cracked a brief smile.
Austin Rivers spent much of his first stint on the court staking out a position on the right side, which placed him in front of the Celtics’ bench; there was no interaction with his father’s team. With about a minute left in the first quarter, he muscled a hook shot in for a basket, but his father had no reaction.
Rivers was 3 for 6 from the field and 2 for 4 from the line. He also had two fouls and an assist in 23 minutes.
The Celtics opened a 21-10 lead but then allowed six straight points, including a drive by Rivers. The Hornets scored 11 consecutive points midway through the second quarter to turn a five-point deficit into a 38-32 lead; they led by one at halftime, then scored the first eight points of the third quarter to make it 52-43.
It was 61-49 when Pierce made a turnaround jumper and, after Rondo swiped Vasquez’s bad pass, Jason Terry hit a 3-pointer. Jeff Green blocked Ryan Anderson, and Terry made a short jumper; Terry had another 3 and, later in the quarter, a steal to set up Pierce for a jumper in the final seconds that made it 67-63.
But the Celtics kept missing shots, failing to score from the 6:22 mark of the fourth quarter until 2:04 remained in the game. By then, the Hornets had turned a four-point lead into an 87-71 advantage. Boston shot 7 for 23 in the fourth quarter.
Notes: Rivers is the fourth NBA coach to face his son, joining Mike Dunleavy (Mike Dunleavy Jr.), George Karl (Coby) and Butch van Breda Kolff (Jan). ”¦ The Hornets opened the game 3 for 13 from the floor and missed all five of their 3-point attempts in the first period. New Orleans also committed six turnovers in the first, yet trailed just 25-20 after one. ”¦ Celtics F Chris Wilcox did not play for the second straight game. Rivers said he was available. ”¦ Garnett passed Patrick Ewing and moved into 16th place on the NBA’s career scoring list.
