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Jalen Green · As confirmed through a 16-4 record when he scores 30+ points over the last two seasons, the Houston Rockets appear poised to fly as high as Jalen Green’s springy leap will allow. During what fittingly could’ve been a preview of this spring’s postseason, Green’s showing on January 13, 2025 — in a thriller between two of the Western Conference’s top three juggernauts — that potential destination appeared to be quite far. Equally extraordinary from both the 3-point arc and inside the paint, Green’s always-incredible highlight reel offered eye-openers from everywhere, headliner among them being a final-minute contested double-clutch layup that supplied Houston with a lead it wouldn’t again surrender. The crunchtime creativity put exclamation to a game that saw Houston trail by 12 in the final 8:18, with Green, one of plenty of showmanship and trash talk, contributing 10 points over that pivotal stretch. In the second of three different hotly-contested battles against the Memphis Grizzlies in January, Green met the circumstance with 42 points, three rebounds, four assists, one steal, and near-flawless efficiency overall (13-of-18), from deep (five-of-six), and from the charity stripe (11-of-11). · State of Mint