According to ESPN Stats, Kristaps Porzingis set a new franchise record for the Boston Celtics with 30 points in the team’s season-opening triumph over the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
Porzingis’s play on both ends of the floor was outstanding. The Knicks shot only 3 of 18 inside the paint against him in the first quarter because of his rim protection, and he scored from all over the court.
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It’s hard enough to defend (Al Horford also provides this) a knockout shooter as your popping big man, but take a look at where Porzingis catches and releases that shot. He’s over beside the logo. That’s almost to impossible to stop, and with that sort of range coming from their center, Boston’s spacing will be one of their biggest advantages all year.
How impressive was Porzingis’ first game performance? With 2:34 remaining, the Celtics were behind 101-98, but Porzingis scored nine straight points to send Boston home victorious.A solid debut for his Celtics career.
Jаysоn Tаtum, Kristаps Pоrzingis impress in debut: 10 tаkeаwаys аs Celtics beаt Knicks
In their season opener on Wednesday against the Knicks, the Celtics played well enough early and late to overcome a major lapse and win 110-106.
The key points are listed below.
There were probably some bumps in the road that the Celtics will need to smooth out, and we’ll get there. However, the Celtics can draw heart from three major positives, so in the spirit of a fresh start we will begin there.
Jayson Tatum was the first. The Celtics were led by their usual MVP candidate, who scored 34 points in a variety of ways, despite all the talk about the team’s fresh look and feel during training camp. First, he dunked on Quentin Grimes by barreling past him into the paint. Twice he made his trademark step-back 3-pointers and made them count. He saved hopeless Celtics possessions by sinking clutch jump shots. Even when the Knicks were double-teaming him, he was able to grab 11 boards and help start Celtics possessions with his ball movement.If the Celtics want to achieve their goals this season, they’ll need to play more cohesively than they did on Wednesday. On the nights they don’t, however, they still have a superstar who can carry the load without question.
Kristaps Porzingis, who made his regular season debut with the Celtics and scored 30 points, was the second positive. In the first quarter alone, Porzingis scored 15 points, and with under two minutes left in the game, after a perfectly executed pick-and-pop with Tatum, he nailed the game-winning jumper.