Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis returned from injury to play his first game in a month during his team's 107—89 Game 1 win over the Dallas Mavericks—and the word rust didn't even come to mind when watching how the veteran big man played on Thursday night.
Making his NBA Finals debut, a red-hot Porzingis scored 18 first-half points to help the Celtics blow the game open early and carry a 21-point lead into the locker room at halftime. But Porzingis's final line—20 points, six rebounds, three blocks—doesn't do justice to just how dominant the 7'2" big man was against his former team.
One 30-second stretch from the first quarter demonstrates just how much of an impact Porzingis had on both ends for the Celtics. Here's the sequence, courtesy of Kevin O'Connor on X, formerly Twitter.
Dominant 30-second stretch by the Celtics:
-Kristaps Porzingis above the break 3
-Porzingis blocks Kyrie Irving
-Sam Hauser corner 3
The Porzingis Effect! pic.twitter.com/M0SegUnOzp
With 1:09 remaining in the first quarter, Porzingis sank a 29-foot three-pointer, then blocked a mid-range jump shot attempt by Kyrie Irving on the other end, leading to a Celtics fast-break and subsequent three-pointer by forward Sam Hauser.
Porzingis scored 11 points and blocked three shots off the bench in the first quarter, leaving no doubt that his strained right calf was fully healthy, considering he was making plays like this one.
KP SAID N🚫 pic.twitter.com/QUNqKQZSEc
After the game, Porzingis's Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown told reporters there was "no question" the big man was back after the dominant first quarter.
"Yeah, was it the first or the second quarter? He just went on a run where he he hit the three, hit the middy, then ran back, got the block at the rim in transition," Brown said. "He was just making play after play and it was just like, all right, he's back, there was no question about it then.”
Game 2 of the NBA Finals tips off on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
TIM CAPURSO
