Kristaps Porzingis made an emphatic return for the Celtics Saturday night, scoring 24 points against the Nets.
Kristaps Porzingis made an emphatic return for the Celtics Saturday night, scoring 24 points against the Nets.Noah K. Murray/Associated Press
NEW YORK — After a 10-point burst early in the fourth quarter helped steady the Celtics against the Nets, Kristaps Porzingis missed a pair of 3-pointers from the left arc that could have mostly finished off Brooklyn.
But his teammates gobbled up offensive rebounds after both shots, and Jayson Tatum eventually found Porzingis streaking to the rim for a powerful one-handed dunk, putting an exclamation point on his big return in which the Celtics held off a late Brooklyn rally and secured a 115-113 win.
Porzingis, who had missed the last eight games due to an undisclosed virus, played the entire fourth quarter and finished with 24 points on 9-for-16 shooting. Payton Pritchard added 22 points and 6 rebounds off the bench. Jayson Tatum was just 1 for 7 from the 3-point line but registered 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Jaylen Brown left the game in the third quarter due to back spasms and did not return.
The Nets sliced a 21-point deficit to 92-89 on a Maxwell Lewis 3-pointer with 8:43 left in the fourth. But Porzingis, who previously converted a basket inside, ensured that there would be no collapse and provided a reminder of how dangerous he can be when he is actually on the court.
He drew three quick non-shooting fouls that got the Celtics into the penalty just over three minutes into the quarter. Then over a 40-second stretch he converted a 3-point play that was followed by a 3-pointer from the top of the key, giving him 10 points over the first five minutes of the fourth, and stretching Boston’s lead back to 100-92.
The Nets made a late push, pulling within 112-108 on a Ziaire Williams 3-pointer with 56.9 seconds left. After Tatum missed a 3-pointer from the left corner, Keon Johnson banked in a runner to make it 112-110. After a pair of Pritchard free throws, Cam Johnson pulled up for a deep 3-pointer with 4 seconds left that brought the Nets within 114-113.
Pritchard was fouled with 3 seconds left and made the first 3-pointer before missing the second. But the Nets were out of timeouts and were unable to get off a 3-pointer before time expired.
Porzingis wasted no time getting back into the mix, and certainly did not hesitate at either end of the floor. He scored Boston’s first points on a basket inside just 51 seconds into the game, then air-balled a contested 3-pointer from the top of the key soon after.
Perhaps the best indication that he was feeling just fine came soon after, when he sprawled across the floor while going for a steal and drew a foul. At the 6:15 mark of the opening quarter he rumbled down the lane for a dunk on a pass from Holiday, who had seven first-half assists.
During his second-quarter stint Porzingis air-balled another 3-pointer but also added another dunk on a feed from Holiday that gave the Celtics a 52-34 lead. Porzingis missed all three of his first-half 3-pointers but was 4 for 4 from two-point range, and he registered 8 points and 2 rebounds in 14 first-half minutes.
Pritchard was 4 for 4 from the field and 3 for 3 from beyond the arc in the opening half, helping Boston stretch its lead to as many as 21 points. But a pair of slightly forced 3-pointers by Tatum, who was 0 for 4 from beyond the arc in the first half, created an opening for the Nets to claw back.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Keon Johnson sliced the deficit to 10 before the Celtics eventually took a 63-51 lead to the break. Still, there appeared to be few reasons for the Celtics to be concerned. They were 27 for 45 from the field (60 percent) in the opening half, with just two turnovers.
The Nets sliced the deficit to 63-59 early in the third before consecutive 3-pointers by Sam Hauser, Tatum and Holiday pushed Boston’s lead back to 74-61. That is usually the point at which inferior opponents crumble against the Celtics, but the Nets kept charging, and a Maxwell Lewis steal and dunk with 2.9 seconds to play pulled them within 86-81 at the start of the fourth.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.