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Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Kevin Porter Jr. duels James Harden down stretch in 116-110 loss to Houston Rockets
Author: Chris Fedor
Publication: Cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Kevin Porter Jr. always wanted to play against Houston Rockets star James Harden.
He got his first chance Wednesday night. Porter made the most of it.
The 19-year-old rookie who the Cavs have been privately gushing about since taking him with the final pick of the first round, dueled Harden down the stretch. Went shot-for-shot with him in a scintillating second half. Tried to take the defensive challenge. Had his best night as a pro.
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‘He’s going to be a monster’: Cavaliers rookie Kevin Porter Jr. provides hope, earns rave reviews following career night
Author: Chris Fedor
Publication: Cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As soon as the buzzer sounded, ending the best game of Kevin Porter Jr.’s career thus far, the breathtaking rookie who continues to make strides each night, had mixed emotions.
Porter scored a career-high 24 points on 9-of-15 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range. It’s the most triples he’s hit in a game, the most points scored by a Cavs rookie since Collin Sexton on March 28, 2019 in San Antonio. In a late-game, confidence-building duel with MVP James Harden, one of Porter’s idols, the Cavs teenager had 16 points in the fourth quarter, trying to will his team to a much-needed victory. It was just the second time he earned high-stress crunch-time minutes -- a meaningful milestone in his development.
But the youngster also made two costly mistakes in the final 36.8 seconds that left him dejected.
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Rockets Rally Past Feisty Cavs
Author: Joe Gabriele
Publication: Cavs.com
WRAP-UP
The Cavaliers couldn’t quite pull off the upset on Wednesday night, but they did do something that they haven’t in the past two-and-a-half weeks: Have fun playing the game of basketball.
Despite James Harden’s mammoth 55-point performance, the Wine & Gold went toe-to-toe with the Western Conference heavyweights – clawing their way back from a two-touchdown deficit late in the third quarter and turning that into an 11-point advantage in the fourth before collapsing in the closing minutes.
When the smoke cleared, the Rockets had handed Cleveland its eighth straight defeat – a 116-110 nail-biter in a brief stopover at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – but Harden, Russell Westbrook and Co. knew they were in a fight.
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More Daily Press Links:
- (12/12) Rockets 116, Cavaliers 110: James Harden matches arena record as Cavs falter in final minute beaconjournal.com
- (12/12) Former MVP James Harden delivers encouraging message to Cavs’ rookie Kevin Porter Jr.: ‘Just keep going’ beaconjournal.com
- (12/12) Seven observations from Cavs’ late loss to Rockets: Kevin Porter Jr.’s career night, facing James Harden and more theathletic.com
- (12/12) Kevin Porter Jr. is emerging for the Cleveland Cavaliers 923thefan.radio.com
- (12/12) Harden scores 55, Rockets hang on for 116-110 win over Cavaliers 923thefan.radio.com
- (12/12) Dribbles: Porter Jr. Gives Cavs Reason to Smile in Loss to Harden, Rockets si.com
- (12/12) Harden scores 55, Rockets withstand scare from Cavaliers nba.com