Kristaps Porzingis suffered a new injury during the Boston Celtics’ win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, but it sounds the star forward is going to try to play through it.
The Celtics on Tuesday announced that Porzingis has a “rare injury” to his left leg and will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. Head coach Joe Mazzulla described the injury as “serious” and said the decision on whether to play will not be left up to Porzingis.
Porzingis then told reporters that he is “going to do everything I can to be out there” in Game 3, which is on Wednesday night in Dallas. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, there has been no indication that Porzingis will be ruled out.
As Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis told reporters, he’s determined and expects to continue to try and play with this tendon injury in the Finals. For now, there’s no indication he’ll be ruled out and not permitted to try in Game 3, sources said. https://t.co/jyhg7n9leK
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 11, 2024
The Celtics said Porzingis suffered the injury late in the third quarter. He still managed to play in the fourth quarter but looked visibly hobbled before being subbed out. Porzingis finished with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks to help the Celtics win 105-98 and take a 2-0 NBA Finals lead.
Porzingis just recovered from a calf injury that forced him to miss the majority of the playoffs, though that is not related to the newest issue. Even if Porzingis wants to play in Game 3 and is cleared by doctors, the Celtics need to make sure he can be effective.
