NEW YORK — When Kristaps Porzingis was on the court grabbing his face after getting an elbow from Cody Martin, Celtics fans were immediately worried. The big man was clearly in pain, but soon afterwards, he was up and walking off the court to go to the Celtics locker room.
In that moment, Porzingis appealed to the Garden crowd in the Celtics’ win over the Suns last week. He had his own UFC moment as he raised his long wingspan up in the air, signifying to the fans he was alright despite some blood. Porzingis’ four stitches on his nose were the extent of the damage.
“It’s fun,” Porzingis said. “You already know how much I love playing in front of our crowd and having those interactions with the crowd. And that was just a perfect moment. All my teammates already know I’m a big UFC fan, and me getting hit just kind of fit that moment. And me walking off and feeding into the crowd was a fun moment.”
Porzingis played for the first time since that moment, Tuesday against the Knicks, after he missed victory over the Wizards due to an illness. The big man was excellent as the Celtics dispatched the Knicks in overtime, sweeping the season series 4-0 over their division rival. Porzingis had his fingerprints all over the win with 34 points on 11-for-19 shooting.
He also came up with some huge shots, including the 30-foot, go-ahead 3-pointer with less than 41 seconds left in the game. The big man finished 8-for-13 from deep, including a make from the Knicks logo.
The Celtics were locked in a tight game all night. While they blew out New York in three previous meetings, the defending champs had to earn the win Tuesday. Jayson Tatum’s game-tying 3-pointer forced overtime, allowing the Celtics to pull away during the extra period.
Porzingis joked that he was actually off-rhythm during shootaround and pregame, only to find his shooting stroke once the game started. Plus, he got to do it against the team that drafted him back in 2015.
“Playing here, it’s always very fun,” Porzingis said. “Here, the fans are super into the game and they love the Knicks and I enjoy playing here as a home player and now also on the road. So it’s been fun and especially now finishing the season strong, regular season, and then preparing ourselves for what’s coming.”
