Houston Rockets point guard Austin Rivers has an illness and will miss Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Golden State Warriors.
According to TNT’s Allie LaForce, Rivers has a stomach virus.
Rivers missing Game 1 — which is a 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on TNT — is a blow to the Rockets, who need not only his ball-handling skills but his consistently good defense on Warriors star Stephen Curry.
In three games on the road at Oracle Arena during the regular season, Rivers averaged 35.7 minutes per game. In those minutes, he averaged 11.0 points per game, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Hopefully, Rivers gets better soon and can be good to go for Game 2, which is Tuesday night at Golden State.
The Warriors are also dealing with some potential lineup changes for Game 1: Curry and Klay Thompson are still both questionable due to ankle injuries but received treatment on Saturday.
