Watch: Incredible Kristaps Porzingis sequence with deep 3 followed by massive block on Kyrie Irving
Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis didn't skip a beat during his Thursday return for Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Playing in his first game in over a month, the one-time All-Star made his two-way presence felt early on with an incredible first-quarter sequence.
With the Celtics leading 31-20, Porzingis pulled up for a deep 29-foot transition 3-pointer to extend their lead to 14 points (34-20) with 1:09 remaining in the quarter. Fired up, the big man got back on defense, securing a block on Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving's midrange baseline jumper.
Upon corralling the ball, Porzingis got it to teammate Jrue Holiday, who pushed it up the court, finding sharpshooter Sam Hauser in the corner. Hauser subsequently knocked down a corner 3 to extend Boston's lead to 17 points (37-20) with 50.8 seconds to go.
Hauser's shot capped off a quick six-point sequence kickstarted by Porzingis' motivated play.
The game marked Porzingis' first since April 29. He sustained a calf injury in Game 4 of Boston's five-game Round 1 series win over the Miami Heat and had been out ever since. However, the Celtics slowly ramped up the 28-year-old's rehab in hopes of his finals return.
Porzingis finished the first quarter of his finals debut with 11 points, three rebounds and three blocks, shooting 4-for-5 (80.0%). So, his extensive rehab seemingly paid off.
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Kristaps Porzingis on playing in his first NBA Finals
Thursday night not only marked Kristaps Porzingis' finals debut but also his first time suiting up in a postseason contest beyond Round 1.
Porzingis has missed the playoffs six times in nine years, sitting out the entire 2018-19 season due to a torn ACL. Before this year, his only postseason experience came in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons with Dallas, suffering back-to-back first-round exits.
Ahead of Thursday's Game 1 clash, the 7-foot-2 big man touched on his excitement to play in his first finals against his former team. He added that Boston was entering the series with immense confidence.
"It's incredible," Porzingis said. "Just the energy, like, everybody's buzzing. It's going to be exciting. It's going to be — even just seeing the amount of people now. It shows the magnitude of this and what's on the line. As a team, as an organization, we're going into this series with full confidence, knowing that no steps were skipped."
The league-best Celtics (64-18) have been NBA title favorites all year. Despite Porzingis only appearing in four of 14 playoff contests entering Thursday, they boasted a 12-2 record, facing little resistance amid their finals run.
Boston will look to cap off its dominant season by securing its first title since 2008.
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