NEW YORK CITY — Kristaps Porzingis will come off the bench for the sixth time in his profession within the Celtics’ Recreation 3 in opposition to 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 Recreation 1 with an sickness halfway by the second quarter and by no means returned. He was restricted to simply 14 minutes off the bench in Recreation 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 Recreation 2, and admitted he wasn’t feeling effectively. In his 14 minutes, he scored 8 factors on 3-5 taking pictures and completed with a +/- of -9.
“I’m simply not feeling my finest — not feeling my finest in any respect,” he mentioned. “It simply kills me inside it’s occurring on this second.”
Mazzulla mentioned earlier this week that the Celtics heart has been combating by this sickness since he first missed 11 video games this Spring. He returned from that prolonged absence at a highway recreation in opposition to the Nets on March fifteenth.
“Since he got here again, he’s form of been coping with it — working by it, combating by it, doing the most effective 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 Recreation 1 of this collection.”
“He’s tried loads of various things to attempt to mitigate the unintended effects. I’m instructed he’s been receiving IVs, immune boosters. He’s even modifications his sleep sample to try to get extra relaxation. He’s primarily waking up day by day hoping and praying that he feels higher”
Pregame, Porzingis went by his regular taking pictures work.
Al Horford additionally struggled in Recreation 2. In 29 minutes — together with the whole 4th quarter — the Celtics veteran shot 2-11 and was a -11.
Luke Kornet was the Celtics’ simplest huge in Recreation 2. In his 17 minutes, he completed a +11, scoring 6 factors on 3-4 taking pictures.
