Kristaps Porzingis glad he's not 'the man' for Celtics
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, top left, blocks a shot by Knicks forward Julius Randle during the second half of an NBA game on Monday in Boston. Credit: AP/Charles Krupa
BOSTON — There were more than a few moments Monday when Kristaps Porzingis was the most dominant player on the court at TD Garden. But there were also plenty of moments when he didn’t need to be — playing off of the heroics of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and just fitting nicely in as another option for the Celtics.
He finished with 21 points and six rebounds, causing the Knicks all sorts of problems trying to contend with a 7-3 player on the perimeter — hitting three three-pointers to draw Mitchell Robinson away from the rim. But he insisted he took no special pleasure in beating the Knicks.
“No extra, I’d say. No extra,” he said. “But it’s always good the staff from my time and all the people that are still there from my time. It’s always special to play against the Knicks.”
In New York he was expected to be the star who would lift them, arriving as a heavily-hyped fourth overall pick on a bad team. And then, after being pushed as the star, he was dealt away and blamed for more problems as the team floundered at the time.
“Yeah, maybe it was like falsely pushed,” Porzingis said. “You mature and get older and you understand things better. I never had a big issue at all.”
Thibs homecoming
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is not usually social on game day — or in season — but he said that when he comes to Boston his old teammates from his days at Salem State University join the crowd at TD Garden to visit with him — and root against him.
“It’s always great to come back,” Thibodeau said. “A lot of my teammates will be here tonight, so that part is fun. I haven’t had a chance to get back here as much as I would like. But I like to obviously do that.
“I know there was a terrible tragedy there [a school shooting two weeks ago] so my heart goes out to everyone that was there. But it was a wonderful school for me and a lot of special people, friendships that I have to this day.”
Thibodeau captained the team in the 1980-81 season and while the memories may be good, the loyalties remain in Massachusetts.
“They’re the ones usually booing,” he said with a laugh. “They like me, but they love the Celtics.”
Fournier also out
Along with RJ Barrett, who was held out with a migraine, the Knicks were without Evan Fournier who did not accompany the team to Boston for personal reasons. He is expected to join the team later on this five-game road
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
