Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. left the stadium during halftime of Saturday night’s home game against the Denver Nuggets after a heated exchange in the locker room with Houston assistant coach John Lucas, sources tell The Athletic. The Rockets went on to lose 124-111.
Sources said Lucas called out multiple players, including Porter and Christian Wood — who was benched after missing a mandatory COVID-19 testing window — during halftime, focusing on Porter’s play and Wood’s effort level. As things escalated, Porter threw an object, needed to be separated from Lucas and then got in his car and left the arena. Wood refused to sub into the game in the second half, sources added.
A Rockets source told The Athletic’s Kelly Iko that the team has spoken to Porter since the halftime incident and he’s apologetic for the overreaction.
Head coach Stephen Silas told reporters after the game that Porter was being evaluated for a left thigh injury that has bothered him recently. Silas also said it was his decision to not play Wood in the second half.
Houston trailed Denver 77-55 at half after allowing 47 points in the second quarter. Porter had eight points and three assists in 16 minutes.
Wood played eight minutes during the first half, going scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting. Wood was late to pregame warmups and came off the bench to start the game, but he informed coaches at halftime that he had no desire to play in the second half, sources said.
(Photo: Troy Taormina / USA Today)