Houston Rockets rookie Montrezl Harrell helps save man in car accident

Days after Houston rookie Montrezl Harrell helped save a man from under his overturned SUV, the 6-foot-8 forward brushed off his role in the incident.

“I just tried to do my part and help somebody out in need,” Harrell said in a video for Bleacher Report.

Harrell, who played basketball at Louisville, was among the first to arrive at the scene of a two-car accident Saturday near his former school.

The all-ACC first team player and several others helped free Bai Guye, a Louisville business student, by breaking the front window of his overturned Ford Escape as the car began to emit smoke.

“We felt like, in that situation, it was going to blow up,” Harrell recounted.

Harrell and another man kicked in the window to get Guye out, and retrieved a fire extinguisher before the emergency crews arrived.

“I saw a couple of guys come inside the big window and they were very helpful and I appreciate what they had done, because without their help I would have been stuck inside the vehicle and there was a lot of smoke,” Guye told WAVE-TV.

Guye was taken to a hospital and evaluated for minor injuries.

“I wasn’t looking for any publicity. I wasn’t looking for any fame off of it; it’s just in the kindness of my heart to help another man, to help another person,” Harrell said.

Harrell, was selected by Houston with the 32nd overall pick, averaged 15.7 points with 9.2 rebounds as a sophomore for the Cardinals last season.

The Rockets are set to begin their training camp Sept. 29 and open the regular season Oct. 28 against the Denver Nuggets.

Follow Matt Wilhalme on Twitter @mattwilhalme