Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. must have been inspired by seeing Damian Lillard hit 12 three-pointers two nights ago, because the young star was letting it fly YOLO-style in the first quarter of Thursday’s Game 6 with stupendous results.
In fact, Porter hit half of Lillard’s trey make total from Game 5 before the under-three timeout. That’s right. Porter canned six three-pointers in the opening quarter against Portland. On the road. In the NBA playoffs.
ESPN Stats & Info highlighted just how incredible Porter’s performance was:
Porter has been stepping up since Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray went down with a torn ACL late in the regular season. The 22-year-old has become the clear No. 2 offensive option for Denver behind MVP finalist Nikola Jokic, but with a potential close-out opportunity in Game 6, Porter was leaving nothing to chance in the early going.
This is the type of showing that suggests Porter could eventually be the best player on a championship team. Whether he has any chances such as this to open up so much for the Nuggets remains to be seen, but Porter’s future is bright regardless of how this shorthanded Denver squad fares for the rest of the postseason.
Without further ado, read on for the best reactions to Porter’s phenomenal eruption from beyond the arc:
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