In His Celtics Debut, Kristaps Porzingis Scores Thirty Points And Wins At MSG.

In the fourth quarter, Porzingis scored nine points in a row to put Boston ahead for good. On Wednesday night, the Celtics defeated the Knicks 108-104 at Madison Square Garden thanks to Porzingis’ final stats of 30 points, 8 rebounds, with 4 blocked shots.

To be asked what it felt to defeat his old squad in the first match without his new one, Porzingis replied, “That was awesome,” with a big smile.

“I won’t lie, that was fantastic. As the team at home, obviously, playing here in the Garden always feels special, but it’s also a lot of joy to play here on the road.

He also displayed his adaptability. Leading the club with a 9-for-10 performance from the free throw line, he also led Boston in both 3-pointers, making five of the twelve Celtics.

With four shots blocked and three more changed, he finished with a game-high plus-13 in 38 minutes played.

“He has a natural capacity to put two of the ball, whether he’s attempting to pop and veer and whether they are trying to blitz him, and if he gets enough room, he’s a magnet,” Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics coach, said.

“They’re going to look differently than they did at times a year ago with him on the floor, so we just need to keep improving at our spacing and 2-on-1 reads.

However, he has allowed us to complete more post-ups, like we did in the closing minutes, and significantly alter the game’s space.”

To be asked what it felt to defeat his old squad in his first game and his new one, Porzingis replied, “That was awesome,” with a big smile.

“I won’t lie, that was fantastic. As the team at home, obviously, playing here at Madison Square Garden is always special, but it’s also a lot of joy to play here on the road.

He also displayed his adaptability. Leading the club with a 9-for-10 performance from the free throw line, he also led Boston in both 3-pointers, making five of the twelve Celtics.

With four shots blocked and three more changed, he finished with a game-high plus-13 after 38 minutes played.

Porzingis quickly accounted for 15 of Boston’s 30 points throughout the opening quarter, making 62 percent of his field goals and 60 percent of his three-pointers.

The 7-foot-3 star picked up the pace again in the subsequent half, scoring 15 more points after letting up in the first.

His thirty points were sufficient to break the record held by legendary player Kevin McHale, who scored twenty-eight points in his Boston Celtics debut on October 21, 1980, for the most points scored during a debut game.

In addition, he made NBA history by being the first player to debut with a new team and record five 3-pointers (5-for-9) and four blocks.

With eight rebounds, Porzingis had a significant influence on the boards in addition to his scoring.

As the lone big man in the starting lineup, he had a strong defensive game, limiting New York’s big men to a total of 23 points.

In contrast, the guards for the Knicks combined for 81. Porzingis held New York to 20% shooting, or 3 of 15, while contesting a shot in individual coverage.

When Porzingis was on the court, the Celtics just seemed to connect, as seen by his team-high plus-minus of +13. The Celtics managed to spread the play while Porzingis was in the game.

The Knicks frequently left Porzingis free for easy baskets because Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown were receiving the majority of the defensive attention.

“Just try not to panic. Everyone has enough life experience to not take these kinds of things too personally, according to Porzingis.

“It’s loud here at Madison Square Garden on the road, and the fans go crazy.” We only needed to maintain our composure, which is exactly what we did, and it was successful.”