One game in, and Kristaps Porzingis has already cracked the Boston record books: he hung 30 points on his former team, the New York Knicks, in his Celtics debut at Madison Square Garden. His performance marked the most points scored by a Boston player in a first game with the team, according to NBCSports Boston’s Abby Chin.
Porzingis came out of the gate on fire, but he sounded disgusted by his first quarter when interviewed immediately afterward on the sideline.
“Honestly, I didn’t feel that good in the beginning, but my teammates found me,” he bizarrely commented to ESPN moments after posting 15 points.
The big man constantly credited the Celtics’ team effort during and after the game and complimented Jayson Tatum’s leadership, but it was his own motor on both ends of the court that kept the Celtics driven against a relentless New York team.
Porzingis has long been touted as a rare 3-and-D guy (ahem – when healthy). His first quarter was an offensive explosion of 15 points that included two back-to-back three-pointers and his first of four blocks on the other side of the court. And yet, seeing his defensive length and ability to drill from behind the arc remain in a green jersey is still enough to you one blink twice times and shake your head. He’s special.
“When he gets the space he’s a magnet,” coach Joe Mazzulla said postgame. “Because of him, we can get to some more post ups and really change the spacing.”
In that way, Porzingis provides an unexpected organization to a Celtics offense that relied on bemoaned “organized chaos” and chucking 3-pointers last year. Celtics watchers expected fellow addition Jrue Holiday to sort out Boston’s offensive issues as a bona-fide point guard, but Porzingis brings another type of poise to the team.
He’s spoken often in training camp about how easy having Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the floor makes his job, and it clearly translated. He was a +13 and an efficient 5-9 from three. He closed out the third with a buzzer-beating layup that gave the Celtics a nine-point cushion.
The fourth quarter presented the perfect opportunity for him to go off the rails as he collected his second technical foul of the night. He got tangled up in hockey goon Isaiah Hartenstein, only shortly after he was called on a cringey flop tech. But his message to teammates during Boston’s timeout in the waning seconds of the game was simple:
“Just to stay calm. Everybody’s experienced enough to not overreact to these things,” Porzingis told Chin postgame.
Knicks fans rained a lewd “F--- Porzingis” chant down on him in that fourth quarter, but it carried a sour grapes ring to it as their former star drained a bucket behind the arc with just 1:20 left. It must sting to know this one got away.
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