In a historic sixth straight win for the Houston Rockets, the clear highlight from Sunday’s 10-point home victory over New Orleans was a putback dunk in the fourth quarter by second-year forward KJ Martin.
The son of former NBA All-Star Kenyon Martin soared over Pelicans guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker to grab a missed 3-pointer and emphatically throw it down, all in the same motion. The athletic dunk put Houston up by double digits with under 10:00 left to play, and it sent the Rockets bench and the crowd at Toyota Center into an absolute frenzy.
Only 20 years old, Martin finished with 9 points (4-of-6 shooting) and 6 rebounds in 16 minutes. But it was the vicious slam, which left the backboard shaking and onlookers in awe, that will be most remembered.
See below for multiple highlight angles, along with real-time reaction from stunned teammates and fans on NBA Twitter. Martin and the Rockets will look to keep their momentum rolling when Kevin Durant and former teammate James Harden lead Brooklyn into Houston on Wednesday night, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Central.
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KJ Martin with the rim-rocking putback!@HoustonRockets seeking 6 straight wins…they lead in the 4th quarter on League Pass.
Watch: https://t.co/5QqkBhf1W0 pic.twitter.com/pes4sRIRBK
— NBA (@NBA) December 6, 2021
KJ MARTIN ARE YOU KIDDING ME
— Cayleigh Griffin (@cayleighgriffin) December 6, 2021
KJ MARTIN WOW pic.twitter.com/sVxje2Da6I
— arxn (@arxanii) December 6, 2021
KJ MARTIN COMMITTED A WAR CRIME
— Apollo Launch Pad (@ApolloLaunchPad) December 6, 2021
OMG KJ
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) December 6, 2021
KJ Martin makes things happen
— Royden Ogletree (@roydenogletree) December 6, 2021
.@kj__martin with the put-back slam and the #Rockets bench goes nuts. pic.twitter.com/5SPYZA4PKo
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) December 6, 2021
KJ Martin is going to have a 30-point game with just put-back dunks and layups one day.
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) December 6, 2021
still thinking about that KJ slam 😳 pic.twitter.com/SqyGZpHXaS
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 6, 2021
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