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Kristaps Porzingis and the Boston Celtics played host to the injury-hampered OKC Thunder on Wednesday. The Cs have been all business even after winning the top seed in the Eastern Conference a week ago. They looked to sit atop the totem pole of the entire NBA standings with a victory.
Without injured stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, the Celtics kept their focus to prevent the visitors from pulling off an upset. Oklahoma gamely fought until the fourth quarter where Boston’s roster superiority and home-court edge became too much to overcome. One play summarized how the home team demoralized the Thunder in the said period.
With Boston up 118-95, Aaron Wiggins drove hard to the rim for what would have been a thunderous dunk. Instead, Kristaps Porzingis met him in the air to emphatically send his shot out of bounds. One of the announcers calling the play quipped:
“Wiggins drives into the lane and tried to take a body and got put in the friend zone by Porzingis.”
Wiggins nearly had a forceful dunk but Porzingis stretched his 7-foot-3 frame to the full to deny him the highlight reel. The rejection was one of the Latvian’s game-high five swats to anchor Boston's paint defense. Porzingis put up 27 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished four assists for his all-around excellence.
Kristaps Porzingis needs to continue proving his value in the playoffs
Over the last few years, many have ripped the Celtics criticized for whimpering out of the playoffs. They lost three straight to the Golden State Warriors in the 2023 NBA Finals after leading 2-1. The C's were also punked by the Miami Heat last year in a disappointing Game 7 after Jayson Tatum rolled his ankle in the first play of the matchup.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens significantly retooled the roster by trading longtime captain Marcus Smart in a three-team deal for Kristaps Porzingis. The Latvian joined Jrue Holiday, who came in from Portland for Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams, as the Celtics’ shiny new toys.
With Porzingis manning the middle, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla now has an elite rim protector with the ability to hit 3-pointers. Boston’s spacing with him on the court has improved without compromising the team’s need to deter drives. The Celtics’ first 60-win campaign since the 2008-09 season is partly due to Porzingis’ role in the roster.
The job is only half-finished for the Boston Celtics after earning home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Kristaps Porzingis, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will face tougher adversity once the playoffs start. It remains to be seen if Porzingis can put many more in the friend zone and help the Celtics to their 18th championship.
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
