26 October 2023 , 20:20
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Kristaps Porzingis produced a historic performance in his first game for the Boston Celtics.
The Latvian is looking to reignite his career after some quiet and injury-riddled seasons with the Dallas Mavericks and the Washington Wizards. He has made the perfect start to life in Boston as he scored 30 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks on his return to Madison Square Garden, where he spent four years with the New York Knicks.
The 28-year-old scored nine straight points in the fourth quarter to help his new franchise record a 108-104 victory. The 2018 All-Star’s excellent performance set a franchise record for most points scored in a Celtics debut, smashing the record set by Dominique Wilkins who scored 25 points in 1994.
"That was awesome, I'm not going to lie,” Porzingis said after the game. “Playing here at the Garden is always special as the home team, obviously, but also on the road here it's really fun. At one point it got really crazy when the fans got into it and they made the comeback. But we stayed poised, we stayed calm and we were able to finish out the game. Overall, a fun game to play in, for sure."
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Much was expected of Jrue Holiday signing for C’s given his reliability, presence on the defensive end and ability to contribute some important points. But if Porzingis can consistently show off his versatility the way he did at the world’s most famous arena, he may be the Celtics’ missing piece as they compete for the championship.
He shot over 50% from the field, and made five of his nine three-point attempts while also making nine of his 10 free throws, the most on the team. He blocked four shots and finished a game-high plus-13 in 38 minutes. "He has an innate ability to put two on the ball, whether they're trying to pop and veer, whether they're trying to blitz him, and so when he gets the space, he's a magnet," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of Porzzingis’ performance.
"So we just have to continue to get better at our spacing, get better at our 2-on-1 reads, and they're going to look different than they did at times last year with him on the floor. But, because of him, we can get to some more post-ups like we did down the stretch and really change the spacing of the game."
Porzingis helped the Celtics beat the New York Knicks in the opening game of the new NBA season (Elsa/Getty Images)Facing a six-point deficit with four minutes remaining in the game, Boston then went on a 13-3 run with less than two minutes remaining, courtesy of six free throws and a vital three-point shot from Porzingis. "That was big," said Jayson Tatum, who scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
"For us to call that timeout right there and figure it out. ... I think we made timely plays. Obviously getting in the bonus helped. But rebounding was kind of hurting us, letting them get second- and third-chance opportunities.
“So once we started getting stops, giving them one chance, and we just were under control. We knew we wanted to run, we knew who we were trying to attack and we executed."