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Watch: Kristaps Porzingis leaves Celtics win over Heat with ankle injury
Porzingis finished with 19 points in just 21 minutes against the Heat.
The Celtics lost one of their star players to injury on Thursday night, with Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis exiting his team’s eventual 143-110 road win against the Heat due to a left ankle sprain.
Porzingis went down with the injury with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter at Kaseya Center, rolling his ankle while coming down after contesting a jump shot from Bam Adebayo.
He remained on the hardwood, prompting Joe Mazzulla to call a timeout and sub Porzingis out of the game. Porzingis slowly made his way to the locker room with the help of the team’s training staff, with the Celtics tabbing the 28-year-old center/forward as “doubtful” to return.
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Porzingis eventually rejoined his teammates on the bench at the end of the third quarter, with Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe reporting that Porzingis was walking around the bench “normally” with no ice pack on his ankle.
You can watch a replay of Porzingis’ injury below:
Porzingis was in the midst of one of his strongest games with the Celtics before his injury. In just 21 minutes of action, Porzingis scored 19 points — connecting on six of nine field goals, including three 3-pointers.
Even if Porzingis was back on the bench and moving around without issue, the Celtics have been cautious this season when it comes to handling the big man. He has missed 12 games already this season, with Boston going 10-2 over that stretch.
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