Kristaps Porzingis could not have asked for a better regular-season debut with the Boston Celtics, and he credited New York Knicks fans with giving him added motivation on his big night.
Porzingis scored 30 points in Boston’s 108-104 comeback win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Celtics trailed 101-95 with 3:39 remaining, and Porzingis helped them flip the script with 9 points in the game’s final 2:34.
Porzingis also picked up a technical foul for elbowing Isaiah Hartenstein under the basket with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Knicks fans were unhappy with the play and began chanting “f— Porzingis!”
— sportsvids99 (@sportsvids991) October 26, 2023
The 7-foot-3 center was not rattled in the least. After hitting a pair of free throws to even the score at 101-101, Porzingis then drained a 3-pointer to give the Celtics a 104-101 lead with 1:29 left to play.
You know the go-ahead shot against his former team must've felt incredible for Porzingis
His smile on the replay says it all pic.twitter.com/O02XhDstDz
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) October 26, 2023
Porzingis told reporters after the game that he was well aware of the vulgar chant.
“Obviously the crowd was chanting that, and for me it was fun,” Porzingis said, via Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “I was enjoying all that and looking at it as motivation. Motivation to make plays at the end. It was actually really, really fun to be in that type of environment.”
Porzingis was drafted fourth overall by the Knicks in 2015. He was named an All-Star in 2018 and then suffered a torn ACL. After he returned, Porzingis had disagreements with New York’s front office and asked for a trade. He was sent to the Dallas Mavericks in 2019. Not surprisingly, fans in New York have held onto that and view Porzingis as someone who quit on them.
If Porzingis can stay healthy, he should continue to make a huge impact for the Celtics. His new teammates have to love how he responded to playing in a hostile environment.
