BOSTON (AP) — As the Celtics took the court for the first time this season, Kristaps Porzingis was unmistakable. The 7-foot-3 big man quickly stood out as he easily won the jump ball against the 76ers on Sunday.
Then, on the game’s first possession, Porzingis hit a 3-pointer, much to the joy of the TD Garden crowd. He said that the play was not written for him and that he was only intended to stand in the corner. But the ball found him in the corner, and he drained the three, giving him his first encounter with Celtics fans.
“It was insane,” Porzingis said of the crowd. “That was insane for a preseason game. I don’t know what to say. It’s a fun game to play in, a fun game to watch at the end when Payton (Pritchard) was going off and the whole crowd was into it. I’m very happy to be a Celtic, I’m not gonna lie.”
The Garden crowd wasn’t at capacity, but they were plenty loud for key moments of the game. The Celtics pulled away from the 76ers for the preseason 114-106 victory. Pritchard led all scorers with 26 points as he caught fire, hitting 6-of-11 3-pointers the same day he agreed to an extension.
But there was a pleasant surprise in how easily Porzingis incorporated himself with the Celtics. He finished with 17 points and five rebounds, shooting 5-of-7 from the field. He flushed lobs while hitting 2-of-3 3-pointers, showcasing his flexibility on offense.
Porzingis was also a force in the paint, altering opponent shots as he could end up being the Celtics’ most valuable two-way threat. As a nice bonus, Porzingis and C’s star Jayson Tatum had some flashes of playing off each other in the two-man game.
“It’s super easy honestly,” Porzingis said. “Those guys are so talented. Jayson draws so much attention that it opens things up for me and that’s a perfect scenario for me. So I’m looking forward to more of those two-man, three man-actions where it’s really hard to guard because we don’t even know what we’re gonna do. We’re freestyling it and playing off of each other. So it has to be pretty impossible for the other team to understand what’s gonna happen.”
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