Celtics: An ankle injury worry for Kristaps Porzingis prompts an important update from Joe Mazzulla.
The Boston Celtics exhibited exceptional performance on both offense and defense during their Wednesday night matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, resulting in a dominant 136-86 victory. Despite the overall success, the only setback for the Celtics involved Kristaps Porzingis’ ankle.
In the first half, Boston’s star center accidentally stepped on the foot of Nets’ wing Cam Johnson. Although this incident didn’t immediately force Porzingis out of the game, he did not play in the final two quarters. It’s worth noting that Porzingis had already missed Boston’s previous game against the Nets due to a lower back contusion, further emphasizing the team’s cautious approach.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla clarified that Porzingis’ absence in the latter part of the game was more of a preventive measure. Mazzulla mentioned, “He’s good; he told me he was fine.”
Despite only contributing 16 minutes, Porzingis managed to record 15 points, five rebounds, and one block. The Celtics, however, didn’t heavily rely on him in the second half, as they thoroughly dominated the Nets throughout the entire game. The first 24 minutes saw the Nets struggling to score, with only 32 points, while Celtics guard Payton Pritchard showcased an impressive performance with 28 points in just 31 minutes off the bench.
