In Kevin Porter Jr.’s first career game versus Cleveland, which drafted him in the 2019 first round, the third-year Houston Rockets guard had a very efficient night and came through in the clutch yet again.
Porter scored 16 points in Wednesday’s victory while making 6-of-11 shots (54.5%) on the night, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range (60.0%), and he had 7 assists to only 2 turnovers. Yet again, the 21-year-old showed a penchant for clutch shotmaking, as well, as evidenced by a dagger 3-pointer in the final two minutes to put the game away.
Porter admitted postgame that he badly wanted to defeat his former team, which traded him to Houston in January 2021, adding that he went into the game wanting to break James Harden’s franchise record of 61 points. But “KPJ” clearly did not force the issue, as evidenced by his continued run of strong efficiency and playmaking in recent weeks.
Porter said he is seeing the floor “far better” than earlier in the season, and head coach Stephen Silas acknowledged that he is playing with the steadiness that is needed to succeed as an NBA point guard.
Kevin Porter Jr on beating his former team: “I wanted it. Before the game I told the guys whatever happened this morning or today, leave it out and give your all for me today and they did that.”
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) February 3, 2022
Kevin Porter Jr on beating Cleveland, his former team: “My mindset before tipoff was to try to break James Harden’s (single-game scoring) record and drop 60..There’s so many emotions going through..I’m just like I’m playing against y’all now..It was tougher than I thought.”
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) February 3, 2022
In his last seven games, Porter is averaging 17.1 points and 8.3 assists per game on 46.7% shooting, 45.7% on 3-pointers, and 60.5% true-shooting percentage. He ranks 11th in the NBA in assists over that period, and he’s averaging only three turnovers per game in that run.
Porter and the rest of the young Rockets will look to continue that momentum on Friday in San Antonio, with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. CST.
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Kevin Porter Jr over his last 7 games:
17.1 PPG
8.3 APG (11th best)
1.3 SPG
46.7 FG%
45.7 3PT% (3rd best for his volume)
71.4 FT%
60.5 TS%
3 TPGThis is the man who I thought would be the MIP before the season started. What a drastic turnaround. pic.twitter.com/vrljfBKvvV
— DGC (@Itamar_17_10) February 3, 2022
KEVIN PORTER JR DAGGER THREE pic.twitter.com/N61PTIv2nZ
— arxan (@arxanii) February 3, 2022
JALEN LOB TO KPJ
SHOWTIME 🚀 pic.twitter.com/TFzuXj7iIL
— arxan (@arxanii) February 3, 2022
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