Michael Porter Jr. was coming off his worst game of the young season on Friday before his magnificent performance in last night’s game.
In Friday’s loss to Boston, Porter only had seven points and four boards in 25 minutes on 30 percent shooting. Porter held himself accountable and apologized to his team, and pledged to be better on his next outing. In last night’s win over Chicago, MPJ made good on his pledge. He finished with 31 points on 68.8 percent from the field. He hit six of nine threes and was +23 in his 24 minutes.
“That, in and of itself, is maturity,” head coach Mike Malone said. “That, in and of itself, is ownership.”
Porter cashed jumpers from all over the court and engaged on both sides of the ball in the Nuggets’ dominant win. The Nuggets moved to 9-4 on the season, good for the second seed in the Western Conference as of today.
When the Denver Post asked MPJ about accountability and self-growth, he said, “You gotta grow. You can’t always blame other people. Sometimes, you’re the common denominator, so I’m always trying to see what I can do to grow.”
Porter is averaging 18.0 points, and 6.4 rebounds per game through twelve games played this season. If his look in the mirror continues to reap these kinds of rewards, those stats will only improve. His next opportunity to continue his excellent play will be Wednesday night against the New York Knicks.
