Kristaps Porzingis' immediate reaction to first game back from injury
11/26/2024 01:09 AM
The Boston Celtics demolished the Los Angeles Clippers, 126-94, on Monday, as they tied the NBA record for most three-pointers by a team in a quarter, with 12. Moreover, Kristaps Porzingis made his injury return after missing the Celtics’ first 17 games due to recovery from ankle surgery. His addition, along with Jrue Holiday, via trade, finally won Boston their league-best 18th title after knocking on the door for so many years.
“It was a long rehab. I was itching to get back out there with this team after winning a championship. It was a good beginning. A good first game back,” the forward said, via Celtics reporter Jay King on X, formerly Twitter.
Celtics blow out Clippers with hot shooting
In his return from injury, Kristaps Porzingis contributed 16 points (6-12 shooting), six rebounds, and two blocks in 23 minutes as the Celtics snapped the Clippers’ five-game winning streak.
Meanwhile, this is Boston’s sixth-straight win, which includes handing the Cleveland Cavaliers their first loss this season, snapping their undefeated streak at 15-1.
A complete effort from the Celtics dismantled the Clippers, currently on a four-game road trip, where they hadn’t allowed opponents to score over 100 points until this game.
Six players scored in double figures for Boston, whose avalanche of threes in the second quarter may have already decided the game, as the Clippers could not mount a comeback.
They ended up scoring 51 points in the second quarter, the third-most points scored in a quarter in franchise history.
“I think our pace is incredible right now,” Payton Pritchard said, who scored 20 points off the bench, via Trevor Hass of Celtics Blog. “I think this is our best game as far as our pace, getting up and down. Even after makes, we’re playing quick, and it’s allowing us to get easy catch-and-shoot 3’s. When we’re doing that, we’re the best in the business.”
After starting the second half on a 10-0 run, the Clippers cut the lead down to 19, but the Celtics stayed strong and carried a 99-78 lead heading into the final period.
With Porzingis back, the Celtics don’t need to rely heavily on the 38-year-old Al Horford as their interior presence. It also rounds out the team, with another shooter in their five-out offense and a solid disruptive shot blocker on defense.
Who can beat this team?
Despite the Cavaliers playing out of their mind right now, the Celtics remain the team to beat, on paper and on the court.
They have a roster full of two-way guys who can all shoot the ball, make plays, and play defense, resembling a perhaps more refined version of the prime Golden State Warriors.
It would take significant roster tweaking for any Eastern Conference contender, except probably the Magic when Paolo Banchero returns, to match the Celtics’ athleticism and length or overwhelm them with physicality and size.
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