Before tonight, Kristaps Porzingis last played in an NBA game on April 29, when he injured his calf in Game 4 of the Boston Celtics’ first round series against the Miami Heat.
Clearly, the long layoff had no ill effects. The 7-foot-3 Porzingis just came off the bench to play a dominant first half in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, finishing with 18 points, three rebounds and two blocked shots on 7-of-9 shooting in only 13 minutes.
The Celtics lead the Dallas Mavericks by 21 at intermission, with Porzingis playing a major role in breaking the game wide open in the first quarter.
The “Unicorn” from Latvia has been drawing widespread praise for his play on social media.
“If Porzingis plays like that, this series is over,” said Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“This game is OVER. Porzingis, Finals MVP,” added FS1’s Skip Bayless.
“That is one of the best quarters of basketball I’ve ever seen Kristaps Porzingis play. Goodness. Gracious,” said Nekias Duncan of “The Dunker Spot.”
“Kristaps Porzingis was born for this moment,” a Celtics fan account chimed in.
“My concerns about Kristaps Porziņģis have, um, subsided,” Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd added.
Led by Porzingis, the Celtics shot 24-of-44 from the field and 11-for-27 from three-point range in the first half. Seven Boston players made at least one shot from beyond the arc.
Mavericks star Luka Doncic did score 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting, but the rest of Dallas’ team hasn’t been able to get much going, leaving them staring down a likely 1-0 series deficit.