This study investigates the impact of graded porosity in the anode on the performance of lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells under internal short-circuit (ISC) conditions. A two-dimensional (2D) model is employed to numerically evaluate the effects of graded porosity at various C-rates and lithium dendrite radii. The findings reveal that graded porosity significantly influences the voltage profile, with variations becoming more pronounced as C-rates and dendrite radii increase. Further, the interplay of graded porosity, C-rate, and dendrite radius on spatiotemporal cell characteristics, viz., maximum temperature generation and temperature distribution along the separator are explored. Results revealed that the Li-ion cell demonstrates optimal performance when the anode porosity is highest at the electrode-separator interface. Furthermore, the maximum temperature decreases with increasing C-rate and dendrite radius. However, the dendrite radius shows minimal impact on the temperature distribution along the separator-anode interface compared to graded porosity.