In the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome, Michael Porter Jr. got hit in the eye by James Harden. As a visibly hurt Porter put his hands on his face, he received no sympathy, as a Clippers fan ruthlessly heckled him.
“Poor little baby, did you get hurt? You wanna cry to mama?”
Clipper fan to MPJ:
“POOR LITTLE BABY, DID YOU GET HURT? YOU WANNA CRY TO MAMA?” 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/FoC1SZuEXl
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) December 2, 2024
While this is not ideal behavior, the fan didn’t really cross a line there. It was just some classic heckling, although, I’m sure Porter wouldn’t have appreciated it if he heard it. The 26-year-old was in a fair bit of pain and had to come out of the game not long after this incident.
Porter did check back in later, but it was clear the eye was bothering him as he didn’t make much of an impact the rest of the way. He ended up with 18 points (8-11 FG), seven rebounds, and one assist on the night as the Nuggets lost 126-122 to the Clippers to fall to 10-8 in the 2024-25 season.
This has not been a great start to the campaign for the Nuggets. Despite Nikola Jokic’s return, they have now lost three of their last five games and have failed to impress as a unit. Quite a few of their players are underperforming, but Porter can’t necessarily be accused of that.
Porter is averaging 18.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game for the Nuggets this season. He has been efficient too, shooting 50.4% from the field and 40.9% from beyond the arc. Consistency has been a bit of a problem, but Porter certainly is not the man to be blamed for the Nuggets’ mediocre start.
While the Nuggets haven’t started as well as many expected them to, the Clippers have surpassed expectations. With this win, they improved to 13-9 on the season and are turning the Intuit Dome into somewhat of a fortress.
The Clippers lost their first four games at their new home arena, but have won eight in a row there since then. They have registered impressive wins over the Golden State Warriors and the Orlando Magic during this streak and all the talk about a Clipper implosion before the start of the season is looking a bit foolish now.
Harden has been a big reason why the Clippers have exceeded expectations. He had 39 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists, and one steal against the Nuggets and is showing he has gas left in the tank. If Harden stays healthy, the Clippers could well make the playoffs, something that seemed unthinkable a month ago.
The Clippers will welcome the Portland Trail Blazers next to the Intuit Dome on Tuesday at 10:30 PM ET in an NBA Cup game and I fully expect them to get another win there. As for the Nuggets, they welcome the Warriors to the Ball Arena on Tuesday at 10 PM ET in another cup game.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
