The Houston Rockets were unable to defend their home court on Saturday evening against the Denver Nuggets. Despite a 29-point outing from prized rookie Jalen Green, the Nuggets rode a Nikola Jokic double-double to a 124-111 win. But during halftime of the game, reports indicate that something happened in the Rockets’ locker room that led to one of their players getting up and leaving.
According to Tim MacMahon and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Kevin Porter Jr. “lost his temper” during the mid-game intermission, which led to him deciding to leaving the arena altogether.
Rockets point guard Kevin Porter Jr. lost his temper during a heated halftime discussion and didn’t return to the court, leaving the Toyota Center during the second half of tonight's loss to the Nuggets, sources told @wojespn and me.
ESPN story coming soon.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 2, 2022
Shams Charania of The Athletic added some details, indicating that widely-respected Rockets assistant John Lucas got after Porter, Christian Wood, and other players on the roster. This apparently rubbed Porter the wrong way, and as a result, the youngster threw something at Lucas after a “heated exchange” between the two. To add insult to injury, Wood would not enter the game during the second half.
Sources: After Rockets assistant John Lucas called out multiple players including Kevin Porter Jr. and Christian Wood at halftime tonight vs. Nuggets, Porter had a heated exchange with Lucas, threw an object and promptly left the arena – and Wood refused to sub into second half.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 2, 2022
Sources: Wood was benched to start the loss to Denver after missing a mandatory COVID-19 testing window. Lucas called out entire team at halftime, and focused on Wood's effort level. Porter had a heated exchange with the longtime assistant, and drove out of arena at halftime. https://t.co/24oAwV2GqC
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 2, 2022
The line from the team was that Porter was having his thigh examined — he has been dealing with lingering left thigh issues this season. But after the game, Rockets coach Stephen Silas did acknowledge that something happened in the locker room during halftime.
“We had a spirited debate,” Silas said, per ESPN. “I have certain demands of this team as far as playing hard. … I wasn’t satisfied with the effort.”
