Austin Rivers claimed a commitment to "just go play" led to his 25-point haul against the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers' third-quarter blitz on Friday.
Rivers went 10-for-13 from the field at the STAPLES Center, including a trio of three-pointers, as the Clippers thrashed the Rockets 124-99 in game three of their Western Conference semi-final series against Houston.
The 22-year-old guard - son of Clippers coach Doc Rivers - inspired the home side's 18-0 run at the end of the third term with a three, with Rivers the younger scoring 13 points as LA surged into a 99-76 lead with a quarter to play.
Rivers has been urged by his father, the rest of the Clippers' coaching staff and his team-mates to embrace his instinct and it came to fore on Friday as LA moved into a 2-1 series lead.
"We kept getting stops, so every time I would get the ball in transition, they were kind of scrambling because we were just running the floor and when that happens we're so hard to guard cause we've got so many guys who can score," he said.
Rivers' 25 points was his best-ever haul in the playoffs, while he has only scored more on two other occasions in his three-year NBA career.
Having joined the Clippers from via a trade from the Boston Celtics in January, following two-and-a-half years with the New Orleans Pelicans, Rivers seemed almost relieved with his performance against the Rockets.
"It's been a long journey. I just continued to work through my rookie year, when I was hurt a lot, up and down. Last year, same thing," the Duke University alum said.
"Then I just got right, this summer I really put a lot of work in, more than I ever have done in my life. I just came into this season with a lot of confidence, through my hard work.
"And when I came here to LA - I can't give enough credit to the coaches and the players I play with…they've just taught me to just go play and whatever happens will take care of itself, and it just feels that I just keep getting better and better."