For the second time in three years, the NBA schedule makers had an old-time rivalry on opening night with the Boston Celtics paying a visit to the New York Knicks. Two years ago, the teams had a double-overtime thriller in which the Knicks came away with the victory.
This time around, it was the Celtics who were victorious, winning 108-104. Jayson Tatum led the way with a dominant 34 points, but Boston would not have left Madison Square Garden with a 1-0 record had it not been for former Knick, Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzinigs came out of the gates on fire, scoring 15 first-quarter points to help stake the Celtics to a double-digit lead. While he cooled off in the second and third quarters, he got hot again at the perfect time for Boston.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kristaps Porzingis, Boston Celtics Updates
The smooth-shooting big man scored the team’s final nine points of the game, helping them overcome what was a six-point deficit with just over three minutes remaining in the game. He sunk a back-breaking 3-pointer before making numerous free throws to help ice the game away.
“That was awesome,” Porzingis said, with a very broad smile, when asked how it felt to take down his former team in his first game with his new one. “That was awesome, I’m not going to lie. Playing here at the Garden is always special as the home team, obviously, but also on the road here it’s really fun.
“At one point it got really crazy when the fans got into it and they made the comeback. But we stayed poised, we stayed calm and we were able to finish out the game.
“Overall, a fun game to play in, for sure.”
If you had asked Porzinigs and the Celtics to draw up the perfect debut scenario, it would have likely gone something like this. He was excellent on both ends of the court, ending the game with 30 points, eight rebounds and four blocks with numerous other stop attempts altered a the rim.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kristaps Porzingis, Boston Celtics Updates
Overall, he shot 8-of-15 from the field, 5-of-12 from long distance and 9-of-10 from the foul line. That efficiency helped him make Celtics history, as his 30 points are the most in a debut in franchise history. Porzingis surpassed the 25 points Dominique Wilkins scored in 1994.
If it wasn’t clear entering the game, Porzingis is going to be a huge part of the Celtics’s plans this season. Playing 38 minutes a night would certainly be risky, but if he is playing as well as he did Wednesday, it will be hard to take him out of games. There isn’t a team in the NBA who has a third/fourth option as talented as Porzingis.
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