NEW YORK CITY — Kristaps Porzingis will come off the bench for the sixth time in his profession within the Celtics’ Sport 3 towards the Knicks. Al Horford, in the meantime, will begin for the second time this collection.
Porzingis, who has been battling an unnamed sickness since February, left Sport 1 with an sickness halfway by means of the second quarter and by no means returned. He was restricted to simply 14 minutes off the bench in Sport 2.
Pregame, Joe Mazzulla gave a optimistic replace on Porzingis’s continued restoration, although the sickness has ebbed and flowed over the previous few weeks.
“He’s gotten higher,” mentioned the Celtics’ head coach. “Felt higher yesterday.”
The one pregame press convention query of the day is @RealBobManning asking Joe Mazzulla about Kristaps Porzingis:
“He’s gotten higher. Felt higher yesterday.”
Joe doesn’t but know if Al or KP is beginning pic.twitter.com/AG5ewmwRfX
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) Might 10, 2025
Porzingis spoke to the media after Sport 2, and admitted he wasn’t feeling properly. In his 14 minutes, he scored 8 factors on 3-5 capturing and completed with a +/- of -9.
“I’m simply not feeling my greatest — not feeling my greatest in any respect,” he mentioned. “It simply kills me inside it’s taking place on this second.”
Mazzulla mentioned earlier this week that the Celtics middle has been combating by means of this sickness since he first missed 11 video games this Spring. He returned from that prolonged absence at a highway recreation towards the Nets on March fifteenth.
“Since he got here again, he’s sort of been coping with it — working by means of it, combating by means of it, doing the perfect he can,” Mazzulla mentioned.
ESPN’s Shams Charania offered an replace on Porzingis earlier than the sport.
“He’s nonetheless coping with unintended effects from a virus he first handled in March,” Charania mentioned. “It’s led to him having vitality zaps, stamina ebbs and flows over the past couple of months. He felt he had turned the nook proper because the playoffs began in mid-April. However in his personal phrases, he’s had a crash proper earlier than Sport 1 of this collection.”
“He’s tried a variety of various things to attempt to mitigate the unintended effects. I’m advised he’s been receiving IVs, immune boosters. He’s even modifications his sleep sample to try to get extra relaxation. He’s basically waking up every single day hoping and praying that he feels higher”
Pregame, Porzingis went by means of his typical capturing work.
Al Horford additionally struggled in Sport 2. In 29 minutes — together with the complete 4th quarter — the Celtics veteran shot 2-11 and was a -11.
Luke Kornet was the Celtics’ handiest massive in Sport 2. In his 17 minutes, he completed a +11, scoring 6 factors on 3-4 capturing.
