Hearing about Kristaps Porzingis’ return for tonight’s first game of the finals against Dallas, the Celtics fans were on cloud nine. It was in April during the series against Miami that he injured his calf leading to him missing the Celtics’ entire journey to the finals. Despite the news of his return, there were some concerns about how well he would be able to perform after the thirty-eight-day hiatus. However, all doubts were cleared by Porzingis as he dominated the Mavs all night and led his team to a blowout victory, even causing the fans to beg for mercy.
To everyone’s shock, the Latvian star showed no sign of rust and continued right where he left off. While he was on the court for only twenty-one minutes, Porzingis put up a 20-point performance on his return leaving his former team with no response. More importantly, he was highly efficient from the field making eight of his thirteen attempts and draining two three-pointers.
Not only that, he also contributed on the defensive end by grabbing six rebounds and getting three crucial blocks on the Mavs players. A big-man presence on the defensive end was exactly what the Celtics had been missing in the previous two rounds after Porzingis got injured. And for most of the night, Kristaps was the leading scorer on his team, that is until Jaylen Brown surpassed his score by just two points late in the second half. But Brown played sixteen more minutes than the big man. With this amazing performance, the Celtics protected their home court and took Game 1 107-89. And a lot of credit goes to Porzingis’ impressive comeback performance despite being out of action for so long.
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NBA World stunned by Porzingis’ fiery performance
While fans expected Porzingis’ return to help the Celtics against Dallas, not many would have imagined the thrashing he would give to his former team. Impressed by his amazing performance in a limited time, fans took over social media to express their disbelief. One fan wrote, “Kristaps Porzingis is f**king absurd.” Rightly called the ‘Unicorn’ since his days with the New York Knicks, Porzingis showed tonight exactly why he got that name with his versatile scoring ability.
Kristaps Porzingis is fucking absurd
— Jalen Boom (@boom_in_ur_fac3) June 7, 2024
Watching him catch fire early in the game and seeing the Mavs get blown out, one fan even asked Porzingis to calm down a little and have mercy on his opponents. While Tatum and Brown initially had a silent performance on offense, the Center took the onus on himself to keep the offense going and not let Dallas make a comeback.
Kristaps Porzingis, calm down na. 😢😢
— SHERIFF (@snow_patrol7) June 7, 2024
One fan was shocked that the Latvian star might have had his best game of the season tonight despite being out of action for over a month. Yes, most players take time to find their rhythm when they come off a big injury. But that was not the case for Porzingis tonight. Playing in the biggest game of his career, he did not let the nerves get to him and produced a miraculous performance.
Kristaps Porzingis is having maybe his best game of the season in his NBA Finals debut and dude hasn’t played in a month
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) June 7, 2024
Another fan blamed the Mavs fans for bringing this upon themselves. When Porzingis played for the Mavs from 2019-22, he faced a ton of criticism for not living up to the expectations. Eventually, Cuban and his crew traded him to the Wizards bringing more hate his way. However, the Center finally got redemption tonight by getting a win over the team that traded him.
Man, Porzingis just wrecking us. He saw all trash y’all Mavs fans talked about him.
— Jonathan Burr (@JJ_Burr5) June 7, 2024
And one fan even deemed Porzingis one of the best players in the league after watching him dominate on the biggest stage.
Now Porzingis one of the best players in the NBA? Aight man 😂😂😂
— Trey (@Trey_Oh5) June 7, 2024
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Even Jayson Tatum after the game was happy to have Porzingis back in the lineup playing alongside him, “How seamless his transition is to come back. Man, I’m glad he’s back.” And all Boston fans would have the same feeling after tonight’s big win.
Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow in what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.
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