Austin Rivers very impressive – especially to teammate Chris Paul

Austin Rivers

Austin Rivers/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

Austin Rivers had not scored in double figures in over a month when he took the floor for Wednesday night’s game at Charlotte. That was Nov. 27 when he scored 17 points during a 111-90 victory over New Orleans at Staples Center.

Rivers, who has struggled with his shot – especially from distance – came through with 22 points in a 122-117 victory over the Hornets. He shot 7 of 11 overall, 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

Chris Paul was impressed.

“Austin was amazing tonight,” Paul said. “You could sort of see it on his face in the locker room. He was so focused. Our second unit’s energy gave us a chance to rest a lot in the fourth quarter. J.J.(Redick)  was amazing tonight. It was a great team win.”

Redick, the Clippers’ starting shooting guard, scored a team-high 26 points on 8 of 14 from the field, 5 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Even with this performance, Rivers is shooting only 41.7 percent on the season, 24.3 percent from 3-point range. Prior to Wednesday, he was shooting just 20.6 percent from distance.

The Clippers (20-13) have won four consecutive games, the past three without Blake Griffin (partially torn quad tendon).