Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. has pleaded not guilty to assaulting Kysre Gondrezick, a friend of the WNBA player, in a New York hotel room. She suffered broken vertebrae and a cut above her eye

Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. pleaded not guilty Tuesday to assaulting his girlfriend after she suffered a fractured vertebra and a cut above her eye in an attack.

Porter was charged with second-degree assault and second-degree strangulation overnight Monday after he was arrested for allegedly injuring his girlfriend, WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, at the Millennium Hotel near Times Square.

He was released on $75,000 bail. The judge ordered him to stay away from Gondrezick and imposed a temporary protective order against him.

“This is a serious case of domestic violence,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Mirah Curzer said in court.

Gondrezick told police that Porter repeatedly punched her in the face, injuring her above her right eye and causing bruising, according to the criminal complaint viewed ESPN.

Prosecutors said he didn’t stop until Gondrezick ran into the hallway covered in blood.

She was taken to NYU Langone Medical Center, where hospital tests revealed a fractured vertebra in her neck and bruising.

Kevin Porter Jr. appeared in court Tuesday after being arrested for assaulting his girlfriend

Porter Jr. pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree assault and strangulation

The NYPD told DailyMail.com that the 26-year-old woman had a cut on the right side of her face when she arrived at the scene. Initial investigations revealed that she had been struck multiple times, officials said.

Porter and Gondrezick have been together since February 2022. She posted on X, formerly Twitter, sharing photos from their one-year anniversary.

It is claimed the incident escalated last night after Porter Jr was locked out of her hotel room.

The NBA player had reportedly returned from a night out in the early hours of Monday morning. Gondrezick was dissatisfied with how late he had returned and locked the door.

When Porter entered the room with the help of hotel security, he allegedly beat Gondrezick.

In a statement Monday, the Rockets said, “We are in the process of gathering information related to the Kevin Porter Jr. matter.”

According to prosecutors, Porter has a history of abusing Gondrezick, including an incident in which he rammed his car into hers.

Porter is due back in court in Manhattan on October 16.

The Rockets are scheduled to play a preseason game the same day in San Antonio, with the regular season beginning about two weeks later.

Porter played four seasons in the NBA – a tenure marked by on-court prowess and off-court issues.

Last year, Porter averaged 19.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, earning himself a lucrative four-year extension with Houston, where he landed after exhausting his career in Cleveland.

In 2020, while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Porter was arrested for weapons possession and driving without a license.

In April 2021, the NBA fined Porter $50,000 for violating the league’s COVID-19 health and safety rules by visiting a strip club in Miami.

The Rockets suspended Porter for one game in January 2022 after then-coach Stephen Silas said the player had a “vigorous debate” and “lost his temper” at halftime.

Gondrezick was the fourth pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft when she was selected as a guard for the Indiana Fever.

She was the highest selection in program history at her alma mater, West Virginia. As well as the school’s second player to join the Fever.

Gondrezick’s father, Grant William Gondrezick, was an NBA player. He played for the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers and played professionally internationally. He served as a high school basketball coach until his death in 2021.

Her parents met in 1993 and married in 1995. Kysre’s mother, Lisa Harvey-Gondrezick, is also a basketball coach.