Kristaps Porzingis impresses in Celtics debut, scores 30 against Knicks at MSG
It took Kristaps Porzingis no time to make his presence felt on the court for the Celtics.
Porzingis finished with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, including scoring nine straight points to put Boston ahead for good late in the fourth quarter. The Celtics defeated the Knicks 108-104 in their season opener from Madison Square Garden.
"That was awesome," Porzingis said to the media following the game. "That was awesome, I'm not going to lie. 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."
Only one game in, the new look Celtics are still learning to play alongside one another, while also showing signs of how good this team can be any given night.
“He just makes us that much more dynamic obviously with his size, ability to shoot, make plays off the dribble,” Jayson Tatum said of Porzingis’ play. “When they double me late, make the right play, find an open man. Obviously he can shoot from wherever. I mean, he’s really good. He’s really, really good. We’re lucky to have him.”
Porzingis set a Celtics franchise record for points in the game. He surpassed the 25 buckets Dominique Wilkins scored in his debut back in 1994.
The big man’s presence was felt in many aspects of the game, leading the team in 3s, hitting 5-of-12. He also lead the team with a 9-for-10 from the free throw line. The 7-foot-2 unicorn blocked four shots, altered several more 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. "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."
The Celtics and Porzingis will look to build upon Wednesday’s season opening win when they face the Heat on Friday night at TD Garden.
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