Kevin Porter Jr. plays through pain to lead Rockets past Celtics

HOUSTON — In the movie Creed III starring Michael B. Jordan, his character Adonis Creed returns to the ring after being away from boxing for three years.

During one of his training sessions with his sparring partner, he gets knocked down. As he is lying on the canvas, all the times he has been knocked down in a title match play in his head.

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In those flashbacks, he also remembers all the times he has gotten up and continued to fight, no matter how injured he was. Those moments help motivate him to get back up, no matter how complex the next challenge might be.

On Monday night, Rockets point guard Kevin Porter Jr. channeled his inner Creed to help Houston defeat the Boston Celtics, 111-109, to break their three-game losing streak.

With Houston leading Boston, 102-93, with 4:42 left, Porter drove to the lane and made a four-foot floater to help increase the Rockets’ lead. After making the basket, he lay in the paint holding his knee.

As he grimaced in pain, one can only imagine that he was having flashbacks to earlier this season of missing 20 games with a toe injury. No sooner than he removed that thought, the thigh contusion he suffered that caused him to miss another game may have crept in.

Porter had to be helped to the bench by teammates, and when the Rockets’ medical staff immediately attended to him, it looked as if his night could be complete. He contorted in pain every time the knee was touched, but kept telling the trainers that he would be okay.

Before the injury, Porter was having one of his best games of the season, with 12 assists and only one turnover. He had helped the Rockets keep the Celtics off-balance all night and looked like he would help lead them to an easy victory over the team that represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals last season.

“I tried to hurry up and get back up, but that one hurt, so it took me a little more time to recoup,” said Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. about hurting his knee in the fourth quarter of the Rockets win over the Boston Celtics. #Sarge @TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/4BlT0ChOhX

— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) March 14, 2023

While Porter was getting treatment, Boston went on an 8-2 run to pull within five points. It looked as if the Rockets were setting up for another late collapse similar to their the previous two games against Indiana and Chicago, which were two very winnable games.

Porter, however, would channel his inner Adonis Creed by fighting his way through the pain to get back on the court with just under two minutes left in the game.

“I banged my knee pretty hard,” Porter said postgame about his injury. “I tried to hurry and get back up, but that one hurt, so it took me a little more time to recoup.”

Boston pulled within a point at 106-105 and looked as if they were about to steal a victory at Toyota Center — which felt more like the Boston Garden with the number of Celtics fans in attendance. But Porter was able to find Jalen Green, who hit an elbow jumper over Jayson Tatum, to put the Rockets up by three. From there, they held on to defeat Boston by a bucket.

“Scoot’s 13 assists and only one turnover is some big-time progress,” Rockets head coach Stephen Silas told reporters postgame.

Porter may not have received a championship belt like Creed did at the end of the movie. But getting back into the game and overcoming adversity to help lead his team to victory — against one of the NBA’s best teams, to boot — is one of those moments he will never forget.

“One of the things we wanted to limit was turnovers as a result of his decision making, and that has gotten better as this season has moved along,” Silas said of Porter’s 2022-23 season. “He’s one of our best defenders, especially now that Eric (Gordon) is gone. He’s grown and matured. He’s gotten better. That’s what we want and need.”

Houston Rockets HC Stephen Silas talks about the maturity level of guard Kevin Porter Jr. this season and how his game has evolved since last season. #Sarge #Rockets @TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/RoQEObfqE1

— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) March 14, 2023