BOSTON — The energy in the building was palpable from the moment TD Garden’s doors first cracked open.
On the second night of a Celtics back-to-back, and after missing the first 17 games of the NBA season, Kristaps Porzingis was slated to make his highly-anticipated return.
“I’ve been looking forward to this all day,” said one of the arena’s security guards at 4:30 pm, more than three hours before tip-off vs the Clippers.
“Now the season really begins,” said another.
In some ways, Porzingis’s return came as a surprise. Just a day earlier, Joe Mazzulla wouldn’t reveal whether the big man was cleared for basketball action, and initial timelines placed his return sometime in December.
Plus, the Celtics didn’t need him back, at least not on paper. The defending champions entered Monday night with the NBA’s second-best record (14-3), and having outscored opponents by 9.4 points per game, the third-best mark in the league.
Everything was on track. While backup center Neemias Queta faced some defensive hiccups, he and Luke Kornet had collectively gotten the job done in Porzingis’s absence.
But, why hold off if he was ready to go? Porzingis scrimmaged with the Maine Celtics last week, and again in Washington DC on Friday, Brad Stevens confirmed on NBC Sports Boston’s broadcast on Monday night.
And, Porzingis himself revelead he had consistently been ahead of his rehab schedule since his June surgery.
“I was ahead of it all the time,” said a beaming Porzingis postgame. “I was itching to do more — start more sprints, contact, 1-on-1. I was always asking the medical staff to do more.”
So, five months after surgery to repair a torn medial retinaculum in his left leg, the 7’2 Latvian center — described by Jayson Tatum as a “cheat code” last week — was back in action.
In his 23-minute return, Porzingis scored 16 points on 6-12 shooting, grabbed 6 rebounds, and blocked 2 shots. He dramatically altered the Clippers’ paint attempts, helping anchor a visibly improved Celtics defense that held Los Angeles to just 94 points, all while reminding the city of Boston of his multi-faceted impact on the offensive end.
But, perhaps even more significant than his on-court impact, Porzingis infused the Celtics with energy and joy. When he came out on the floor for pregame warmups, he emphatically pointed his fist toward the eager crowd, lingering a few extra moments in front of the bleachers to take in the sea of green.
Throughout the game, he could hardly sit still on the bench, rising to his feet to celebrate Neemias Queta dunks and Payton Pritchard threes, treating each basket as though it was a game-winner. He quickly illustrated how his rim deterrence and ability to stretch the floor will impact the team, but also reminded the world that it’s largely his charisma and energy that made the city of Boston fall in love with him.
After the Celtics’ 126-94 win, Joe Mazzulla was asked whether he felt Porzingis provided the team with an emotional lift.
“No question. He’s just a high-level personality,” Mazzulla said. “We built an identity with him last year. The guys were excited to get him back, we were ready to have him back. Between his personality — and then each guy likes playing with him because of how he plays.”
Jaylen Brown echoed that sentiment, and credited Porzingis with helping him get one of his first successful back-door cuts of the season.
“He’s always looking for me,” Brown said, whose friendship with Porzingis has been well-chronicled. “I used to get a back-cut multiple times every game, easy baskets that help get you going. I maybe got one or two this whole season. But KP coming back? I get one in the first play.”
Brown, normally all business at the podium, broke into a grin and declared “Cookies and Cream is back!” in the middle of his postgame press conference.
Kristaps Porzingis’s dramatic entrance set the tone for the night
Porzingis didn’t enter the floor with the rest of the Celtics before tip-off. Instead, he nearly glided out 10 minutes later, recreating his famous WWE-style entrance from Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
As he made his way through the players’ tunnel, and fist-bumped team personnel with a drink in hand, the Garden crowd raucously cheered, eyes glued to the jumbotron.
“Did you see his walk out?” Brown said when asked about Porzingis’s emotional impact on the team. “That’s just him. He brings that swagger to our team, that energy. It was great to have him back out there.”
Payton Pritchard, who continued his Sixth Man of the Year campaign with a 20-point, 4-assist outing — called the big man’s return “amazing.”
“The walk-out was incredible,” said Pritchard. “That energized us.”
Fittingly, Porzingis hit the Celtics’ first shot of the night. He also attempted Boston’s first three field goals, though Mazzulla said that wasn’t by design, but rather a result of his players’ making the right read.
The reality is that the Celtics probably would have won without Porzingis, too. A 51-point second quarter, headlined by 12 three-pointers, blew the game open. Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Brown, Pritchard, and Queta all scored in the double-figures, while the Celtics bench shot 10 of 15 from three on the night.
But, Porzingis’s presence made this win feel different. The buzz around his return didn’t seem like a temporary energy, but rather something that would loom over the team moving forward.
Jaylen Brown perhaps captured the feeling best.
“KP is a legend,” he said.
