Kristaps Porzingis started 57 games for the Celtics last season and was key to their 2024 NBA title run.
Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porziņģis made his season debut against the LA Clippers on Monday, posting 16 points and six rebounds in over 22 minutes of action. Boston won 126-94.
It didn’t take Porzingis long to remind his Boston Celtics teammates what they’ve been missing.
Late in the second half, the Clippers were on offense when Kris Dunn drove the baseline and went up for a dunk attempt. He was met at the rim by the outstretched arms of the 7-foot-2 Latvian, who sent it back to the floor with a two-handed block.
A few trips later, Porzingis showed off that length on the offensive end, catching an alley-oop from teammate Jaylen Brown that garnered roaring approval from the TD Garden crowd.
“It was a good beginning. Good first game back,” Porzingis said.
Porziņģis was expected to miss five to six months haver having surgery in June to repair a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon. The former All-Star had the surgery on June 27 and, less than five months later, was back in Boston’s lineup.
KP with our first bucket obviously 😏 pic.twitter.com/YBh7Cf8tGe
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 26, 2024
Porziņģis suffered his injury in Game 2 of the NBA Finals and had hoped to delay the surgery until after the Finals and Latvia’s Olympic campaign. He wound up missing the 2024 Olympics but has been working to recover for the 2024-25 season.
His last game was in Game 5 of the NBA Finals when he logged 16 minutes, scoring five points and collecting one rebound in Boston’s 106-88 win that clinched the Celtics’ 18th NBA title. Porzingis missed Game 3 with a dislocated tendon in his left ankle. He was cleared to play a limited role in Game 4, but never took off his warmups during Boston’s 122-84 loss in Dallas.
Last season, Porziņģis averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 51.6% overall and 37.5% on 3-pointers in 57 games. Porzingis played in the Celtics’ first four playoff games of 2024, but then suffered a right calf injury that kept him sidelined until Game 1 of the the NBA Finals.
The Celtics are No. 2 in the Eastern Conference (14-3) and are 2 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for No. 1.
Boston had played just three games (the fewest in the league) against the 14 teams that currently have winning records, though it is responsible for the Minnesota Timberwolves (9-8 prior to Sunday) losing their spot in that group. The Celtics will face the 11-7 Clippers and 17-1 Cavs this week, with those also being just their third and fourth games against teams that currently rank in the top 10 defensively.
Information from The Associated Press and NBA.com’s John Schuhmann was used in this report.
