Rockets on Green's career-high 41-point effort in season finale: 'What a run'

Houston Rockets rookie guard Jalen Green ended his first NBA season on Sunday (April 10) with another milestone: A career-high 41 points.

While the Rockets themselves dropped their season finale 130-114 to the Atlanta Hawks, the 20-year-old Green gave those who were in attendance at Toyota Center on Fan Appreciation Day a preview of what the team's future might look like.

"What a run," the Rockets' official Twitter account shared postgame. "Bright future ahead for @JalenGreen."

The loss caps another year of growing pains for the Rockets, who hope to secure the top pick in the 2022 NBA Draft with the league's worst record of 20-62.

According to a report from ESPN, it's the second consecutive season in which the Rockets finished at the bottom of the NBA standings.

Last year's trade of James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets prompted the franchise's freefall toward the No. 2 pick that became Green.

Houston could end up with no worse than the fifth pick in June.

Green, a Northern California native, entered this month on a scoring tear.

According to the Houston Daily, he notched four straight 30-point outings as of April 3, which placed him in elite company.

The Rockets said in a Tweet at the time that Green joined Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson as the only players to have four consecutive 30-point games during their rookie years, the publication reported.

Green's 41 against the Hawks distinguishes him as the only member of last year's draft class to score 40 or more.

With barely enough time left in the game, Green nabbed his career high with a one-handed dunk.

He finished the 2021-2022 campaign with around 17 points a contest on 42% shooting through 66 games, per Pro Basketball Reference.