What mark did the leading scorer on Brooklyn hit? He went off on Philadelphia as the Nets win second straight.
The Brooklyn Nets witnessed a new milestone out of top scorer Michael Porter Jr. -- all in the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers.
He finished with 28 points, but 25 came in the first half during the 114-106 win on the road. The Nets confirmed that Porter's 25 is now the highest-scoring half of his career.
Porter even drew contact down low to get his baskets -- including this one on a dish from rookie Danny Wolf.
"Timely shots, timely plays...we stayed in composure," Porter told the YES Network after the game.
But he was asked what led to his breakout and record-breaking first half.
"Just trying to be aggressive," Porter said. "In the second half, they tried to take away things for me. But I was trying to open things up for my teammates a little bit."
He credited the passing of Wolf plus the shooting of fellow rookie Egor Demin, crediting the latter for not forcing anything.
Porter wasn't the lone Nets player who went off scoring wise. Demin joined him in surpassing the 19-point mark -- by scoring 20 in 33 minutes of play. The first-year player also tied MPJ with hitting five shots behind the arc.
Brooklyn needed to erase an early 6-0 deficit to start the game. Nic Claxton scored the first points for the Nets on one free throw. But Porter sparked the rally from there -- banking a 26-foot shot from three-range off an assist via Day'Ron Sharpe. Demin and Porter later hit baskets that cut the lead to 10-9.
Porter then handed Brooklyn its first lead of the night by hitting a 24-foot three. He later made a running layup to build the lead to 14-12. Philly later retook the lead off two Paul George free throws that made it 24-23...only to see Brooklyn leave the first quarter tied up at 27.
The Nets then shed a seven-point deficit in the second quarter to go on a 12-1 run. Brooklyn led 63-57 at the half. Then the visitors really dominated in the third and early fourth quarter -- increasing the lead to 19 with the 97-78 advantage before Philly cut it closer. Tyrese Martin and Nolan Traore rose as the early fourth quarter scorers there.
Claxton ended his night scoring 16 points with 10 rebounds for the double-double. Sharpe nearly earned the double-double by scoring nine points but collecting 11 boards. Noah Clowney added 13 points while Ziaire Williams was another scoring nine on the evening.