Jalen Green posts a dunk to Cade Cunningham as the Rockets overwhelm Pistons

Jalen Green didn’t have his best game on Sunday in Detroit. In 34 minutes, the Houston Rockets’ fourth-year shooting guard finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, but shot just 6 of 17 from the field (35.3%) and 1 of 6 on 3-pointers (16, 7%).

But he will remember one of these six makes for a long time.

Early in the fourth quarter, after an Amen Thompson steal set up a transition sequence, Green threw a fierce dunk right over Pistons star Cade Cunningham. After the energetic slam, Green was so excited that he received a technical foul from the refereeing team for everything he yelled during the celebration.

Ultimately, these two points proved to be decisive for the guests’ 101:99 victory (box score). Houston improved to 6-4 with the win, while Detroit fell to 4-7.

What likely contributed to the history between Green and Cunningham was a long-standing rivalry. Both were top prospects in the same 2020 high school class and became the top two overall draft picks in the first round of the 2021 NBA. The Pistons selected Cunningham at No. 1, one spot ahead of Green (at No. 2 behind Houston), which always seemed to give Green’s fire some extra fuel.

Throughout the game, Cunningham outperformed Green, finishing the game with 26 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds while shooting 10 of 21 from the field (47.6%) and 2 of 4 from 3-point range (50.0% ). ).

But it’s probably Green’s unique moment that will be remembered most.

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This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Jalen Green posts Cade Cunningham dunk as Rockets challenge Pistons