Alperen Sengun tipped the loose ball backward, towards his own basket. Jae’Sean Tate contorted his body to avoid it. Josh Christopher yelled and demonstratively gestured, telling someone else to go retrieve it.
That someone, of course, was teammate Kevin Porter Jr., and the setting was the final 90 seconds of Monday’s home win by the Houston Rockets over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder. Assuming the ruling isn’t reversed (some have argued that Sengun should get credit for the rebound, since his tip was similar to a pass), that odd and hilarious sequence resulted in “KPJ” securing the first triple-double of his NBA career.
If Porter had aggressively sought out the rebound himself, the sequence might have received some criticism for stat-hunting. But considering that his teammates effectively demanded for him to retrieve the ball, what came across most was how beloved the 21-year-old is by his teammates.
Here’s a sampling of how NBA Twitter responded when they first learned of Porter’s unique triple-double clinching moment.
best play of the night: Rockets players demand Kevin Porter Jr. come get the rebound before it goes out of bounds so he can record his first ever triple-double. tremendous work environment. pic.twitter.com/rrJmgTGhsG
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) November 30, 2021
I love this, because it shows how much his teammates got love for him. https://t.co/iBgvqr6eqK
— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) November 30, 2021
Man I loved seeing Sengun tip the ball towards Tate and they were yelling at Kpj to get the final rebound for his triple double
— utdJosh 🔴⚪⚫ (@utd_josh) November 30, 2021
dont even start with "stat-padder". Ricky Davis would stand and throw the ball off the rim to himself 100 times if he didnt get an 8 second violation first. ive seen Russ do the Mortal Kombat Raiden torpedo across the screen for a loose ball. KPJ didnt even go for it until called
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) November 30, 2021
This is dope!!! He is truly embraced by his teammates!! https://t.co/2w01fWShuw
— I Am G Jones (@G_Jones206) November 30, 2021
For a team that young to already have that awareness and comraderie is really impressive #Rockets https://t.co/AMa5YurBcs
— HoustonHorn (@ndnpro64) November 30, 2021
“GO GET THE BALL”
Kevin Porter Jr. was a rebound away from his first career triple double, and he got it with a little help from his teammates 🤣
(ticket via vin__anz/IG @FDSportsbook) pic.twitter.com/c5codkQS2W
— br_betting (@br_betting) November 30, 2021
Team chemistry at 100
— 🙏🏾🚀💪🏾 (@HtownJeremy) November 30, 2021
