Porzingis shows signs of improvement with 12-point performance in first game for Warriors
SAN FRANCISCO — Kristaps Porzingis made his debut with the Warriors on Thursday night in a 121-110 home defeat against the Boston Celtics, a game that never seemed competitive.
This marked only Porzingis’ 18th appearance of the season and his first since January 7, when he was still with the Atlanta Hawks, nearly a month prior to his trade to the Warriors.
Due to this, the Warriors took a cautious approach with his return, utilizing Porzingis off the bench and restricting him to 17 minutes of play. He started slowly, missing his initial two attempts and having difficulty keeping pace with the Celtics’ offensive onslaught.
Boston outscored the Warriors 38-19 in the second quarter and held a 32-point advantage when Porzingis re-entered the game late in the third quarter. Celtics star Jaylen Brown recorded 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists.
“Boston was incredible,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr stated. “They’re having an amazing season. They’re a machine right now.”
However, the Warriors did make a comeback and momentarily threatened to reduce the Boston lead to single digits, partly due to a surge from Porzingis. He connected on two long three-pointers, executed a couple of successful post-ups, and concluded with 12 points. The Warriors outscored the Celtics by 15 points with Porzingis on the court in the second half after being outscored by 19 in the first half.
“He just looked more comfortable and settled in,” Kerr noted.
Porzingis expressed his desire to increase his minutes limit “as quickly as possible.”
“Even tonight, I would’ve liked to go longer,” Porzingis remarked. “Even if I’m exhausted out there, I still want to push myself. But I know I have to take it step by step. Add a couple minutes next game hopefully.”
The Warriors will face the Denver Nuggets on Sunday (12:30 p.m. PT, ABC). They will continue to be without Jimmy Butler, who tore his ACL and is out for the season, and Stephen Curry, whose ongoing right knee issue will keep him out for at least four games.
With their two top players unavailable, the struggling Warriors have fallen to 29-27 and require Porzingis to find his rhythm and quickly provide an offensive lift.
“I felt all right,” Porzingis stated. “Far from being in perfect shape. But I think for my first game back after a while, getting some energy back, I’m feeling good.”
