Tag: Kevin Porter

Rockets teammates comically cleared out for Kevin Porter to record first career triple-double

Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter needed another rebound to secure his first career triple-double and his teammates made sure he got it.

Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter needed another rebound to secure his first career triple-double and his teammates made sure he got it.

Porter, who is playing point guard for the Rockets this season, finished the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Needless to say, it was a close call on whether or not he would actually notch the accomplishment and he may not have gotten it without help from his teammates.

With just over a minute left in the game, following a miss from the Thunder, Houston’s Jae’Sean Tate and Josh Christopher cleared out for Porter to get the board. Christopher even jumped up and down to try to communicate to Porter that he had full clearance to steal the stat.

In fact, once Porter was finally able to secure the board and the triple-double, no one seemed happier than Christopher.

Much like when teammates encouraged Bob Sura to miss a layup and get a rebound for what would have been his third straight triple-double in 2004, it was a brilliant moment to build team chemistry for the lowly Rockets. Plus, it assuredly helped boost confidence for Porter in the process.

The main reason why John Wall is on the sidelines is to develop Houston’s young talent, and with Porter playing the same position, he is the person who most greatly benefits from Wall’s absence.

Porter became the youngest player in Rockets history to record a triple-double. He joins Steve Francis and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in franchise history to record a triple-double before turning 23 years old.

[listicle id=1591180]

Today in Nets history: Deron Williams ties career-high in assists

During his first season in New Jersey, Deron Williams surpassed the 20-assist mark in a game — something few Nets have accomplished.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.

Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

During his time in Utah, Deron Williams dished out 20 assists in a game four times. He even managed to creep over the mark once in 2007 to set his career-high at 21.

When the Jazz traded Williams to New Jersey in the middle of the 2010-11 season, he was stuffing the stat sheet — when he was available to play for the Nets.

One of Williams’ best performances came on April 5 with the Timberwolves in town. On top of hitting the game-winning jumper with 1.7 seconds left on the clock to finished with 18 points, the Nets point guard dished out 21 assists in New Jersey’s 107-105 win (full box score), tying his career-high.

Williams became the fourth player in Nets history to log 20 or more assists in a game, joining Kevin Porter (twice), Stephon Marbury and Robert Pack.

 

Porter was the first Nets player to reach the 20 assists mark, setting the then franchise record at 20, oddly enough, on April 5, 1978. He would break the record 20 days later when he dished out 29 assists.

In 2012, Williams would join Porter in being the only Nets to ever dish out 20 assists in two separate games.

RELATED: Joe and Clara Wu Tsai donate more ventilators to New York than initially thought