Getty Kristaps Porzingis, Mavericks
When you have a game that finishes with the dramatic flair that we saw in the Mavs’ win over the Celtics on Saturday—with Luka Doncic’s incredible contested fall-away 3-pointer as the highlight—it is easy to forget the other aspects of the game. But ranking right behind Doncic’s clutch shot on the pecking order of importance for Dallas was the return to action of Kristaps Porzingis, who had missed five games with stiffness in his back.
Porzingis came back in a big way, posting what was his best game of the season: 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting, with seven rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. He also had a critical put-back dunk off a Jalen Brunson missed 3-pointer with 1:39 to play that tied the game at 104 and set up Doncic’s dramatics. He followed that up with a blocked shot on Boston’s Dennis Schroder.
Kristaps Porzingis. That’s it, that’s the tweet.
This, finally, was the new-look Porzingis coach Jason Kidd has been hyping up in the preseason.
“He was great,” Kidd said after the game. “Came up with a big block there at the end of the game, and then also had a big tip-in for us, I think we might have been down two, and he tied the game up, if I can recall. I thought, for his first time back after being out for five games, he was really good.”
Porzingis Was at His Most Aggressive
Porzingis’ return helps to address the serious size problem the Mavericks have had in his absence, with Maxi Kleber also out because of a back problem. More than that, it represented a different Porzingis than we’ve seen all year–in his first three games, Porzingis had averaged 12.7 points on 30.2% shooting.
On Saturday, he was aggressive and confident, attacking inside and fighting for offensive rebounds. He went to the foul line eight times, which ties for the most free throws he’s had since the Orlando bubble in 2020.
“I’m so happy to be back out on the court,” Porzingis said. “It sucks to be not able to play and help, and then on top you have to put in all the cardio work to stay in shape. Playing is the fun part. Today, I woke up and I knew it was game day and I was ready to was extremely excited the whole day.”
Health Will Remain the Concern With Porzingis
The lingering question around Porzingis, though, is whether he can stay healthy now that he is back on the floor and being productive. He played 72 games as a rookie in 2015-16 and has not had a fully healthy season since, which includes missing a season-and-a-half after suffering a torn ACL in 2018.
He’s missed games with a smorgasbord of injuries during his two-plus years in Dallas, including problems with his ankle, heel, wrist, knee and even nose. The back injury is a concern going forward.
“It just took me a while to get rid of it,” Porzingis said. “I felt kind of stiff in that Houston game, I was out early. And I just knew it was not good for me to be out there when I can’t perform. So, work through it, got my body right, and I’m ready to rock ‘n’ roll.”
Still, after a preseason in which the Mavs appeared re-committed to getting Porzingis involved in the offense, he had some struggles coping with winding up back on the injury list.
“It was tough yeah,” Porzingis said. “I felt great in the preseason and then as soon as we started, that happened. I didn’t feel sorry for myself or get my head down. I just said, ‘OK, it is what it is, this is the situation, get rid of this as soon as possible, make sure you’re healthy and go out there and play.’ It was on to the next thing. It is what it is in the end, just try to move on and get my body right.”