During Monday night’s playoff game against Miami, Boston’s center Kristaps Porzingis departed late in the first half citing right calf tightness, according to the team.
The incident occurred approximately with 2:35 remaining in the second quarter. Porzingis made a movement to his left after a dribble, abruptly pulling up without apparent contact and signaling to the Boston bench. He was substituted out eight seconds later, heading straight to the Celtics’ locker room with his jersey pulled over his face.
Earlier in the game, there was an instance where Porzingis seemed to tangle feet with Miami’s Tyler Herro. Following this, Porzingis exhibited slight discomfort, favoring his left leg momentarily, but continued to play. Additionally, he was knocked to the floor at 2:57 left in the half due to an offensive foul by Boston’s Al Horford while setting a screen.
Kristaps Porzingis actually rolled his ankle and was already limping a couple possessions before his non-contact injury. Here's the sequence: pic.twitter.com/hP6SBlzKok
— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) April 30, 2024
Porzingis requested to be substituted during Boston’s subsequent offensive possession.
Al Horford filled in Porzingis’ place to start the second half.
This season, Porzingis missed seven games due to left calf injuries, wearing tape on the back of his left leg as a precautionary measure. He also encountered various other issues throughout the season, including inflammation and contusions in his right knee, right hamstring problems, a sprained left ankle, and back soreness.
Porzingis did not return for the second half, having contributed seven points and three rebounds in 13 1/2 minutes during the first half of the game.
In the regular season, he averaged 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds across 57 games. In the first three games of the Heat-Celtics series leading up to Monday, Porzingis averaged 14.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
