After an early timeout in the first quarter, Derrick White found Kristaps Porzingis posted up against Jalen Brunson. It was the perfect mismatch to exploit with the 7’2 Celtics center backing down the 6’2 star of the Knicks. It was these kind of post-ups that made Porzingis such an integral part of Boston’s success in the last two regular seasons.
Porzingis took three power dribbles and with a foot in the paint, turned to take a jump hook over his former teammate. Unfortunately, he never even got a shot up. OG Anunoby slapped the ball off his leg and forced a steal.
That turnover became a microcosm of Porzingis’ night (one point, 0-for-3 from the field including two missed threes, one rebound, one block, and a turnover in just 12 minutes) and frankly, his entire postseason so far. After playing just seven games in last year’s championship that included an emphatic return in Game 1 of the Finals, this was going to be his comeback to playoff relevancy. With Jayson Tatum out, Porzingis joined the starting lineup for the first time since Game 1 and was coming off a Game 4 when he felt the healthiest in days.
“Today was the first day that I felt decent honestly,” Porzingis said after playing 24 minutes. “Just everything. Just my energy, I was a bit more uplifted. Maybe I didn’t have my best game anyway, but energy was good and I felt I could go a bit more up and down. That’s positive.”
Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to carry over on Wednesday night. A physical series with the Orlando Magic took away his threat as a three-point shooter and since then, he’s been dealing with the after effects of the mystery illness that he contracted back in March.
“He couldn’t breath. So, he was available if absolutely necessary,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “That was just a decision between me and him. He was just having difficulty breathing. He wanted to be out there.”
After a seven-minute stint in the first and just under five in the second, Porzingis didn’t return after halftime. Luke Kornet filled in and had the best game of his playoff career, hitting all five shots and nearly finishing with a triple double with nine rebounds and seven blocks.
He’ll have two more days to recover until Game 6 in New York. Porzingis has said that issues tend to arise when he “goes hard,” but that it’s sporadic. There are days when he can handle more minutes and others when his energy level gets zapped. There wouldn’t be a better time for his energy to shift than Friday night.
