Rockets drama: Kevin Porter Jr. leaves arena, Christian Wood refuses to sub in after assistant John Lucas calls out players

It was a six-game regulation roster on the first day of the NBA calendar for 2023.

There were two winning games, a showdown in Salt Lake City between contenders and, of course, drama. The last part was courtesy of the Houston Rockets, who were hosting reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets at the Toyota Center.

The final score line 124-111 does not illustrate the gulf between the hosts and the visitors.

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The Nuggets led by as much as 31 points and held a 77-55 lead at intermission, which is supposedly when the Rockets’ drama ended.

What was the Rockets’ halftime drama?

Assistant coach John Lucas was unhappy with the team’s performance, and his outburst at halftime prompted unexpected reactions from players, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported.

Charania further reported that “Wood was benched to start the loss to Denver after missing a mandatory COVID-19 testing window. Lucas called the entire team at halftime and focused on Wood’s level of effort. Porter had a heated exchange with the longtime assistant, and drove out of [the] sand at halftime “.

Wood was reportedly late for warm-ups. He came off the bench after starting his 34 previous games this season. He played eight minutes in the first half on Saturday and went 0-4 from the field.

After the halftime showdown, he informed the coaches that he did not feel like playing in the second half.

What was the post-game reaction to the Rockets drama?

According to Kelly Iko of The AthleticThe Rockets have spoken with Porter since the incident and the guard apologizes for his overreaction.

“We had a lively debate,” Rockets head coach Stephen Silas said during his postgame media availability. “I have certain demands of this team in terms of playing hard … I was not satisfied with the effort.”

This loss is the Rockets’ seventh in a row and the eleventh in 13 games since a seven-game winning streak in late November and early December.

Rockets upcoming schedule

Despite their 10-27 record as of January 1, these Rockets have already etched their names in NBA history.

The team will play the majority of its next matches, seven of nine, on the road. A look at their next five games: