BOSTON — Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis had started 472 of 473 career games, including playoffs, before Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Porzingis, coming off the bench for just the second time in his career and playing his first game since suffering a calf injury on April 29, scored 20 points, including 18 in the first half, to go along with six rebounds and three blocks as the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 on Thursday.
“It's an unbelievable feeling to go out on the court and have that kind of support,” Porzingis said of the Celtics fans. “The adrenaline rushing through your system definitely helped.”
“Obviously it wasn't ideal to be out for such a long time but I prepared myself as best I could mentally for the moment I would come back and it paid off, I got the job done tonight, played a good game and I'm happy with the result.”
Porzingis, who spent two-plus seasons with Dallas, missed the playoffs for more than a month, but Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla wasn't worried.
“I know it's going to be a storyline of how he is going to do after he's been out for a month,” Mazzulla said, “but that's what he's done his whole career. He's a great player. He's been great for us. We're here because of what he's done. No matter how long he takes off, he's going to thrive because he's talented and he's willing to work hard.”
“What he did for us tonight was big and we need that the rest of the series.”
The Celtics didn't “miss” Porzingis, as they advanced to the NBA Finals despite him missing time with a right calf injury.
But the Celtics, who acquired Porzingis from Washington in a trade during the 2023 offseason, missed him, and that was evident in Porzingis' return game against the Mavericks, when Mazzulla told him he intended to use him as a reserve.
“From day one, I committed to doing whatever it takes to help this team win,” Porzingis said. “It just made sense. I didn't mind. I didn't mind. I knew I'd be ready to come off the bench. That was unusual for me. So I stepped into that role, embraced it and played a good game.”
He is just the fourth player since 1970-71 to score 20 or more points off the bench in his first Finals game, joining Derrick White (21 points in 2022), Fred Brown (30 points in 1978) and Phil Smith (20 points in 1975). He is also the first player to record 20 or more points, six or more rebounds and three or more blocks in 22 minutes or less in a Finals game, according to basketball-reference.com.
Porzingis came off the bench and was the early star, entering the game with 7:17 left in the first quarter and scoring 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
“I was just enjoying the moment, enjoying the moment, the crowd and everything,” he said. “It's all a blur right now. I'll have to rewatch the game, but I was totally in the game. That's the best feeling. It was a blast and I hope I can have more moments like that in the future.”
The Mavs threw a few defenders at the 7-foot Latvian, but he kept making shots. In the final two minutes of the first quarter, Porzingis had a dunk, a blocked shot, a 16-foot jump shot, a 3-pointer and blocked another shot that led to a Sam Hauser 3-pointer.
“He was making play after play. There's no question he's back,” Celtics star Jaylen Brown said.
With Porzingis on the court alongside Brown, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, the Celtics will have one of the best five-man rotations in the league both offensively and defensively.
Asked Wednesday what his expectations were, Porzingis surprised everyone by saying, “It's tough. I haven't played yet. I haven't played in a while. Tomorrow is my first proper playing time in a while.”
He explained his answer after the first game.
“At that moment, a lot of thoughts were going through my mind,” he said. “What should I say? I want to say I'm OK, but of course I haven't played yet. I haven't played yet. Am I 100 percent? I didn't have that feeling.”
“But tonight, I told myself I'm a pretty good player. Maybe I'm not perfect, but I'm a pretty good player and I can play like this and I can definitely contribute to the team.”
