-
Tim Bontemps, ESPN
BOSTON — In his first game since helping the Celtics win the NBA championship five months ago, Kristaps Porzingis picked up where he left off.
The 7-foot-3 center, making his season debut after undergoing offseason leg surgery, finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots in 23 minutes for Boston , as the Celtics led by 29 points at halftime. en route to a 126-94 victory over the LA Clippers at TD Garden on Monday night.
“I felt great,” Porzingis said with a smile. “It was a long rehabilitation and I was looking forward to playing with this team again after winning a championship. It was a good start, a good first game.”
It certainly was that, as Boston took an early lead and never looked back, turning the final 24 minutes into an extended celebration of Porzingis’ return.
And, in his first game in five months, Porzingis immediately provided the combination of floor spacing and rim protection that amplifies Boston’s efforts on both ends.
In a sign of both Porzingis’ versatility and what life is like in today’s NBA, Porzingis, the tallest player on the court, took half of his shots from 3-point range, including from the top of the key on each of the first two possessions. After failing the first, he made the second, the only one he would make in six attempts.
However, within the arc the story was different. Porzingis was 5-for-6 on two-point shots, including a nice mid-post pass over James Harden and several lobs from his teammates, though he joked that they both got flat tires due to a combination of their timing and their conditioning.
“It’s part of the process,” Porzingis said. “Especially the first game back. A little timing on the jump, punctures here and there and stuff. It’s normal.”
But it’s on the other end where Porzingis can potentially have an even bigger impact. Boston, which had the second-ranked defense last season, entered Monday ranked 10th this season with the 19th-ranked rim defense (after being first last season in that category).
On Monday, Porzingis was part of a Celtics defense that had a season-high 11 blocks (Boston hadn’t had more than nine in any game this season) and immediately became a deterrent, forcing the Clippers, in addition to Ivica Zubac (23 points and 10 rebounds) to achieve a combined 2 of 8 field goals.
“Yeah, 11 blocks tonight,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said with a broad smile when asked how Porzingis can turn things around defensively for Boston. “Aid.”
Porzingis had been preparing for Monday’s return for weeks. He said he was ahead of the rehab process every step of the way and had been feeling good for a month. Although his return to the court was originally scheduled for December or January, he practiced for the first time a week ago with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League team, and had been undergoing rigorous pregame workouts throughout the week. passing that indicated his return could arrive sooner.
When Porzingis was upgraded to probable around noon Monday following Boston’s 107-105 win over Minnesota on Sunday night, he then returned to Boston’s starting lineup for the first time since suffering a calf strain in the Game. 4 in Boston’s first round. Playoff series against the Miami Heat.
To start this season, Boston hasn’t missed a beat without Porzingis, as the Celtics are on pace to surpass last season’s 64-18 regular season record and are averaging 50 attempted 3-pointers, which would shatter the previous record of the NBA.
But that did not dampen the enthusiasm for his return. Porzingis received a standing ovation during pregame warmups from the fans surrounding the court, and then another when he was announced as the starter.
The 48 minutes of action that followed became a continuous celebration of his return and the potential this group has to become the first Celtics team to repeat as NBA champions since 1969, with Porzingis and his two-way versatility , being a key component.
“It’s going to change night to night, and we’re a versatile team,” Jaylen Brown, one of six Celtics in double figures with 16 points, said of Boston’s many ways to play on both ends. “We have a lot of luxuries where different guys can do different things. The key is just staying motivated and having a great mentality.”
