Golden State Warriors legend Steph Curry said Monday that he appreciated the competitiveness in Houston’s Kevin Porter Jr., and the young Rockets guard made it clear in his postgame comments that there’s mutual respect between the two — even if there was what Curry referred to as some gamesmanship along the way.
Curry scored a game-high 40 points, including a career-best 21 fourth-quarter points (among regular-season games), to lead Golden State to the 122-108 road victory at Toyota Center (recap). While Porter wasn’t quite at that level, the third-year guard was impressive in his own right with 17 points and 11 assists, including 5-of-9 on 3-pointers (55.6%).
In postgame comments, Porter acknowledged that while he did ask the veteran for some pointers at times on the court, he also embraced the challenge of going up against an all-time NBA great and a contender like the current Warriors (38-13). Most importantly, Porter expects the rebuilding Rockets (14-36) to be better off for it.
“I’m not afraid of anyone, or any challenge,” he said. “I like playing against Steph. He’s going to make us better as a team, coming in here (and) having the night he just did. We’re going to build, and we’re going to learn from this game. A type of player like that, you’e got to take that challenge, because at the end of the day, it’s gonna better you.”
Porter and the Rockets will look to build on that performance when they host his original NBA team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on Wednesday night at Toyota Center. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. Central.
Steph unbothered by KPJ chirping. 😂😅 pic.twitter.com/aCkiRO8Rt0
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) February 1, 2022
