Michael Porter Jr. - Team 'had my back' after brother's sentencing - ESPN

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said his teammates have had his back in recent days amid the sentencing of his younger brother Coban Porter to six years in prison for a drunken driving crash that killed a woman in Colorado last year.

The sentencing Friday came just two days after another of Porter's younger brothers, Jontay Porter, was banned for life from the NBA amid a betting scandal.

«Definitely tried to compartmentalize, some bad and sad stuff happened to a couple of my brothers. But I got you know 15, 16 more brothers in here, so I knew I had to be here for them and come in here and do my job and try to prepare to do it at a high level,» Porter said Saturday night after his Nuggets went up 1-0 in their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Porter missed Nuggets practice Friday to testify on his brother's behalf at his hearing. Coban Porter had pleaded guilty in February to vehicular homicide and vehicular assault as part of a plea agreement. According to The Denver Post, prosecutors on Friday said Coban Porter was speeding at the time of the crash and had a blood alcohol level of .19, more than twice the legal limit of .08.

Michael Porter Jr. said each of his teammates texted him and told him «that they got my back if I needed anything, they got me.»

«To have these guys understand why I missed practice yesterday and just had my back has been big for me,» he said.

Porter had a strong game in the 114-103 victory over L.A., scoring 19 points to go along with 8 rebounds in 38 minutes.

«It's a hard thing to do, but I think when you're on the court you don't think about it,» Nuggets star Nikola Jokic said of Porter after the game. «That's why basketball is such a beautiful thing, that you don't