The former All-Star played 16 minutes to help Boston clinch the championship.
The Boston Celtics put away the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals in part thanks to the return of Kristaps Porziņģis. The 7-foot-2 center played a huge role in driving Boston's Game 1 win, but went down in Game 2 with a rare leg injury and was ruled out for Game 3. In Game 4, the Celtics declared Porziņģis "available" but he didn't play a second of the blowout loss.
But the big man made it out there in Game 5, playing 16 minutes and recording five points on four field goal attempts. In an interview with, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla revealed Porziņģis "overruled" the team's medical staff to get out there and play in what ended up being the final game of the season.
"It was like, we don't know how long the series is going to go on for," Mazzulla said. "Let's try to save him from himself because he was trying to play. Let's see if he can get through a game or two. Then, when it was Game 5 at home, it was like, 'Hey, this might be it, I gotta be out there.' So he was like 'I'm playing.' He overrode the medical team there and was like, 'I'm playing.'".
Now, Porziņģis has until September training camp to rest up and bask in the glow of earning a championship ring.Liam McKeone is a Senior Writer for the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. In addition to his role as a writer, he collaborates with other teams across Minute Media to help define his team’s content strategy. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in 2024, Liam worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead.
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