Porter’s 36 points lead Rockets past Bulls 133-118

On Monday night, the Houston Rockets broke a five-game losing streak with a 133-118 victory over the Chicago Bulls behind a season-high 36-point performance by Kevin Porter Jr.

Houston, which got on the board first and held an 18-point lead after 10 minutes, saw that lead evaporate throughout the third quarter despite strong performances from Alperan Sengun (25 points) and Jalen Green (24 points).

A more direct effect of the team’s efforts to improve was on display in this game, as Porter put it.

The Bulls, winners of three straight, were led in scoring by DeMar DeRozan’s 31 points. With his 20 727th career point, DeRozan moved above George Gervin into 44th position on the all-time scoring chart.

Zach LaVine’s 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds of the second quarter gave the Bulls the lead for the first time, and they extended it to as much as seven points early in the third quarter before the Rockets rallied.

After Chicago trimmed the score to 109-100 early in the fourth, Porter answered with two 3-pointers in a row. The Rockets outrebounded the Bulls 56-43, scored 60 points in the paint, and hit 50 percent of their field goal attempts.

Rockets coach Stephen Silas remarked, “We have a competitive bunch, probably weary of losing, dissatisfied with how we closed the homestand, and we have a group of decent men that did the right things.”