The Boston Celtics received an almighty scare in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, as Kristaps Porzingis suffered a leg injury in the fourth quarter. Porzingis exited the contest with 4:40 left and that appeared to have put a damper on the Celtics’ 105-98 win. After the game, Porzingis spoke about his injury and, fortunately, it was good news.
“I feel good,” Porzingis said. “Feeling good. Yeah, I don’t think it’s anything serious. But we’ll look at it tomorrow and go from there. But all good. I’ll be good.”
Porzingis didn’t reveal what exactly the problem was but added that he didn’t believe it was related to the calf strain that caused him to miss 10 playoff games.
“I don’t know, I don’t think so,” Porzingis stated. “I feel good. Obviously, something happened, a little bit. Have a couple of days again. Believe me, we’ll do everything we can to be back and moving well.”
Porzingis was asked how difficult it might be to play through this injury and he made it clear it wouldn’t stop him from playing in Game 3 against the Dallas Mavericks.
“Not difficult at all,” Porzingis said. “I’ll die out there if we need.”
"I'll be good… I'll die out there"
Kristaps Porzingis gives us an injury update and says he will not miss Game 3 pic.twitter.com/G2yg6gRsG1
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 10, 2024
Those comments would certainly sit well with Celtics fans. Head coach Joe Mazzulla was also very confident that Porzingis would be available for Game 3.
“Zero. All good,” Mazzulla said when asked about his concern level regarding Porzingis.
"Zero. He's good."
Joe Mazzulla says he is not concerned at all about Kristaps Porzingis' injury in Game 2 pic.twitter.com/L5sqtXhk83
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 10, 2024
The tests could potentially reveal there is more damage than what Porzingis and the Celtics are thinking. It seems unlikely, though, based on these comments, which is great news. It would have been ever so unfortunate if this injury had kept the 28-year-old out of action after he had already missed such a big chunk of these playoffs.
Porzingis had suffered a right soleus strain in Game 4 of the Celtics’ first-round series against the Miami Heat and it kept him on the sidelines for the rest of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The one-time All-Star was just about able to return for Game 1 of the Finals and made quite an impact.
In his first-ever Finals game, Porzingis recorded 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks in just 21 minutes off the bench. He helped the Celtics go up big early and while the Mavericks made things interesting in the third quarter, the home team comfortably came out on top in the end.
Porzingis wasn’t quite as good in Game 2 here, as he had 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks. The Celtics did very well when he was on the court, though, as he had a plus-minus of +12, which was the best in the contest.
The Celtics Are Just Two Wins Away From A Record 18th Title
The Celtics now just need two more wins to capture an 18th NBA title, which would break a tie for the most championships in NBA history with the Los Angeles Lakers. Will they get those two wins within the next five games against the Mavericks? I believe they will.
I don’t think the Mavericks are going to get swept here but I just don’t see them overturning this 2-0 deficit and winning the series. Beating the Celtics four times in five games just seems a bit much for a team that isn’t firing on all cylinders to begin with.
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