Third-year guard Kevin Porter Jr. continued his run of strong play with another season-high scoring total, but it wasn’t enough to win on Thursday at Toyota Center versus one of the NBA’s hottest teams.
Led by 42 points from Gary Trent Jr. and 30 points by Pascal Siakam, Toronto (31-23) won its eighth straight game and continues to own the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference — enough to make the playoffs without having to go through the play-in tournament.
For a second straight game, Kevin Porter Jr. (30 points, 8 assists) set a new season-high in scoring for the young and rebuilding Rockets (15-40). “KPJ” was efficient in doing so, making 11-of-16 shots overall (68.8%) and 6-of-9 from 3-point range (66.7%), but it wasn’t enough to make up for Houston’s lethargic defense in a 139-120 home loss (box score).
