Boston — It was the perfect way for Kristaps Porzingis to make his court comeback on Friday night against his old team. After missing four games in a row with a calf strain, the big man was cleared to play by the Celtics training staff. In Friday night’s game against the Knicks, Porzingis made his first seven field goals and finished with 21 points in 29 minutes, helping Boston win 133-123. More significantly, Porzingis did not experience any physical problems during the competition.
“It felt fantastic,” stated Porzingis. I’m glad to be back. It was nice to be back outside. I was thrilled to be back and defeat a formidable team like the Knicks, and I was eager to get back out there with my guys. Calf felt clean and fuzzy. Nothing, no constriction. Perfect. A special thanks to our medical team.
When their full regular starting five are healthy, Boston’s record improves to 11-1 for the season with Porzingis back in the lineup. With all five of Boston’s starters finishing in double figures and wreaking havoc on the Knicks defense all evening, his influence on the team’s offensive flow was clear.
Regarding that group, Porzingis remarked, “It’s just crazy talented guys out there, and anybody can score 10, 15, 20 points in the first quarter and get hot.” “Anyone can carry that out. And every game will be unique. We don’t care who it is, I believe, which makes it cool again. Nobody is concerned. If it turns out to be D. White, we’ll just have to keep searching for him; if not, we won’t be bothered. Playing for each other, we want to be aggressive when it’s present.
Additionally, Joe Mazzulla made a point of highlighting the sacrifice he was witnessing from that group.
About his center, Mazzulla remarked, “He was good.” “I felt he was quite decent. You had a sneak peek at what our team might look like on a typical night. I tell the team this all the time: every night, success will look different. I felt Derrick was excellent. I thought Jrue’s aggressiveness was fantastic. I felt Kristaps was a good player. However, there was a moment when Jayson failed to score in the opening quarter and Jaylen had made three shots, but you couldn’t tell because they were occupied with other activities.
With Porzingis out for the past two weeks, the Celtics have had offensive struggles at times and have almost fallen out of the top 10 in terms of offensive efficiency. His return to the floor made things easier for everyone, and his teammates praised him greatly.
“He’s unique,” Derrick White remarked. “Having a player of that size who is capable of doing his job on both sides of the ball is an incredible asset. He obviously got the game started by making a few three-pointers and getting into the paint. When it comes to the basketball court, he is truly limitless. It was very important to us that he was back there.
