His return heralded a victory over the Phoenix Suns.

On Sunday, Houston Rockets coach Stephen Silas needed to take a temporary leave of absence as his father, retired NBA player and coach Paul Silas, had passed away. After a grieving period, Silas returned for Tuesday night’s game between the Rockets and the Phoenix Suns, just in time for a major 111-97 victory.

Monty Williams comforting Stephen Silas after his father passed away last week.

Real ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8FVcboDxkS

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“It was definitely great to be back,” Silas said after the game. “I love these guys. I love this team. I kind of didn’t want the game to end because now it’s like real life starts up again.”

When asked by reporters if returning to work was helping him work through his father’s passing, Silas said “I don’t know if it makes it easier or not, but my dad was a coach and he would tell me to coach. Get your butt out there and coach. So that’s what I did.”

Bigger than basketball 🧡

Rockets coach Stephen Silas, son of the late Paul Silas, and Suns coach Monty Williams embraced after the game on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/eKsv1e4hhK

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“I’m very proud to be my dad’s son,” Silas added. “I’m very proud that people see him in me. And I want that to continue. Whenever it is my time comes, I want people to say the same things that they said about him over the last couple of days about [me]. And hopefully they’ll do that.”