Porzingis returns to play in clinching Game 5

Kristaps Porzingis (center) stares down Dallas big man 

P.J. Washington (25) after being fouled in the first half.

(Erin Clark/globe Staff)

18 Jun 2024 - The Boston Globe

By Khari Thompson boston.com Staff 

Khari Thompson can be reached at khari.thompson@globe.com.

Emerged from the TD Garden players’ tunnel several minutes after his teammates took the floor for pregame layup lines ahead of Monday night’s NBA finals clincher. Porzingis stepped onto the court with six and a half minutes until tip-off and was met with enthusiastic applause. he raised a cup to the crowd and took a sip out of it before placing it on a cooler and pointing toward fans.

The Boston faithful were thrilled to see him back, and so were his teammates.

“He’s just a great teammate, a great competitor,” Derrick White said. “i was happy for him that he was able to go back there. the crowd cheering him on like that just got him going and he can do so many different things. he’s special.”

Despite missing Games 3 and 4 with an ankle/foot injury (left posterior tibialis dislocation), Porzingis was not on a minutes restriction, according to coach Joe Mazzulla.

The 7-foot-2-inch center checked in with 6:49 to go in the first quarter, and he was moving gingerly. Closing out on 3-point shots was a struggle, and Porzingis scored just 5 points in 16 minutes while grabbing one rebound in the 106-88 victory.

Mavericks coach Jason kidd said before the game that Dallas planned to test Porzingis’s mobility, and they did get some favorable offensive looks out of it.

The towering 28-year-old latvian still tried to make a go of it. he withstood a takedown from P.J. Washington, who elbowed and tossed him to the floor on a post-up attempt. Porzingis briefly checked back in during the third quarter with the Celtics holding a big lead. he started the fourth as well.

The Celtics had been evaluating Porzingis’s status on a day-to-day basis during the series. While he was also available to Mazzulla in the Game 4 loss at Dallas, Porzingis remained on the bench.

Porzingis entered Game 5 averaging 13.5 points and five rebounds in 24.8 minutes over six postseason games. Game 1 of the finals was Porzingis’s highest-scoring outing (20 points) of the playoffs.

Boston’s special

Jaylen Brown spoke Sunday about how his relationship with Boston has grown over his eight Celtics seasons.

“It’s definitely a blessing to be here,” brown said. “to represent the Celtics, my family, the organization, the community, our greater community. it’s an honor that i don’t take lightly.

“So just to come out every night and play for something, for what i represent, i think that matters. My relationship with boston has grown. i’ve been here for almost nine years now, since i was 18, 19 years old. i’ve grown up. i’ve become a man here. boston is special.”

Learn from legends

One of the perks of playing for the Celtics is the opportunity to learn from past champions. Derrick White said he has enjoyed learning from them along the way.

“We’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of the past champions here, and just seeing their presence,” White said. “i just think that when it gets tough, and obviously it’s going to get tough, we’ve just got to stick together. We’ve got to believe in one another, and we’ve been doing that all year.”

Big numbers

Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić entered Game 5 with a combined 1,079 points for the Mavericks, one of the highest single-postseason totals for a duo in NBA history.

“They shoot the ball a lot. i mean they are good,” kidd said. “They are really good. that number is incredible when you think about it.”