What Kristaps Porzingis said about new injury that caused him to leave game against Wizards
Porzingis played 11 minutes against the Wizards before a heel injury knocked him out of the game.
Kristaps Porzingis spoke with reporters after Sunday night’s win against the Wizards and gave an update on a lower body injury that caused him to leave the game early.
Porzingis played 11 minutes against his former team and was 5-for-6 from the field when he exited the game. The Celtics announced that he was suffering from heel pain.
Porzingis, who has already missed a significant amount of time following offseason ankle surgery, said he does not believe the injury is serious.
“I banged up my heel a little bit in the first quarter early,” Porzingis said, per NBC Sports Boston. “Not early, but in the first quarter at some point. I kept on playing. It’s nothing major honestly. It’s more like a precautionary thing.”
“And then like in the second when it started, it was pretty sensitive so I told the medical staff and they pulled me out the game. I don’t think it’s anything major.”
The Celtics (21-5) were up by 19 points by the time Porzingis left the game with 3:47 left to go in the second-quarter and ended up cruising to a 112-98 win against the Wizards (3-21). He had a visible limp, but was able to make his way to the locker room. He was listed as questionable, but did not return.
“It happened in this game, one of the post-ups or a rebound, one of the lobs,” Porzingis said. “I’m not even sure when, but I’ve had something similar in the past. It’s something you play through and it’s just a little precautionary tonight.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Porzingis was in “good spirits” after the game. Porzingis, who has already missed 19 of the Celtics’ 26 games so far this season, said he thinks he’ll be able to play by Thursday when Boston hosts Chicago at TD Garden.
Porzingis returned to action slightly earlier than expected last month after he had surgery to repair a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg.
He was expected to return in December, but ended up playing a few days before Thanksgiving. He called the rehab process one of his ‘easiest.’
Porzingis missed 25 regular-season games last season and most of the playoffs. He was initially sidelined during the playoffs with a calf strain, and shortly after he recovered from that, the ankle issues popped up.
The 29-year-old center averaged 20.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks over his first six games back this season. He finished with 11 points, two rebounds, and two assists Sunday night.
Reserve center Luke Kornet grabbed 11 rebounds to go with seven points and four assists while filling in for Porzingis. Jayson Tatum, who led all scorers with 28 points, led the Celtics in rebounds with 12 boards.
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