Though the Rockets (11-24) lost their 14th straight game and suffered even more injuries, Thursday’s game at Sacramento wasn’t without positives. Namely, it was the Houston debut for recently acquired guard Kevin Porter Jr., and he stepped up with the available minutes.
A first-round pick from the 2019 NBA draft, Porter had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and a career-high 10 assists. The 20-year-old lefty shot 5-of-11 from the field (45.5%) over his 29 minutes.
A 6-foot-4 guard, Porter is regarded as a talented backcourt prospect with considerable athleticism, scoring prowess and defensive potential. Houston traded for Porter in January, shortly after a series of troubling off-court incidents prompted Cleveland to part ways with him. As part of a phased reintegration plan to the NBA and a gradual increase to his levels of basketball activity, the Rockets initially assigned him to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, who are Houston’s G League affiliate.
Porter played extremely well with the Vipers, where he was primarily used as a point guard. Then, in his first game with the Rockets, Porter took on a clear playmaking burden in the absence of John Wall (left knee contusion) and Eric Gordon (right groin strain), and he largely delivered. Porter appeared to injure his leg in the first half, but he kept playing and took advantage of his first NBA opportunity of the 2020-21 season.
The Rockets did lose the game, 125-105 (box score), but that was quite understandable with three of their top four scorers (Wall, Gordon, and Christian Wood) sidelined by injury. For now, Houston fans seem pleased to finally have a prospect of significance to cheer on.
Victor Oladipo led the Rockets with 23 points, but he shot just 7-of-21 from the floor (33.3%). Jae’Sean Tate added 16 points, while rookie forward KJ Martin had 13 points and 9 rebounds off the bench.
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.@Kevinporterjr with a double-double in his Rockets debut. pic.twitter.com/A9R91LyMXh
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) March 12, 2021