Many NBA fans and media personalities were focused on Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. finally facing the Cavaliers on Wednesday night. Porter was traded to the Rockets over a year ago from Cleveland and missed the previous three meetings against them, including the Dec. 15 matchup in Cleveland due to injury.
Others, however, were waiting on another critical matchup in the form of two players selected back-to-back in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft: Rockets guard Jalen Green (No. 2 overall) and Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (No. 3). Although they play different positions, both players found themselves defending one another at times on switches.
“We all got drafted pretty high,” said Green, who was asked about going up against some of the other top rookies in his draft class, including Mobley. “We’re obviously trying to show that we’re best. We’ve been doing that since high school, so that is nothing new. Mobley always brings his game, so I had to match his energy tonight.”
Green, 19, finished with a team-high 21 points, his third straight outing in double figures. He is averaging 16 points per game during that span after producing a paltry 5.6 in his previous three outings.
Rockets guard Jalen Green on his matchup against Cavaliers center Evan Mobley:
“Mobley always brings his game, so I had to match his energy tonight.”#Rockets #LightTheFuse #Sarge pic.twitter.com/x1n7jTceXk— BIG SARGE MEDIA LLC (@BigSargeSportz) February 3, 2022
Both Mobley and Green started off very aggressively by scoring double digits in the first quarter, with each hitting 50%of the shots they took. Even though Mobley finished the game with career-highs in points (29) and rebounds (12), Green got the victory as Houston won 115-104.
In postgame comments, Rockets head coach Stephen Silas said he liked what he saw on the court from his prized rookie on Wednesday:
I’m always super proud of Jalen, the things that he does on the floor. He was aggressive. When he saw the gap, he would take it. He was finding his teammates tonight, which is also good and another layer to his game. He ended up with five assists and zero turnovers, and he shot the ball relatively well. When he is attacking, when he shoots the open shots, when he is making plays for his teammates and trying as hard as he is on defense, he becomes a really good player.
The Rockets (15-36) will be back in action on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center in San Antonio.
