BOSTON — The Celtics went on to blow out the Knicks in Game 5 to keep their season alive, and they did so with Kristaps Porzingis on the bench for the entire second half. Porzingis struggled throughout the first half in his limited minutes and was on the C’s bench for the rest of the game. Wednesday’s win was also the first time the Celtics played without Jayson Tatum after he ruptured his right Achilles tendon in Game 4.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla explained the decision to bench Porzingis after the blowout victory Wednesday at TD Garden. Once again, Porzingis’ illness seemingly affected him in the latest setback. The Celtics now trail the Knicks 3-2 in the East semifinals.
“He couldn’t breathe,” Mazzulla said. “So he was available if absolutely necessary. So that was just a decision between me and him. He was having difficulties breathing, but he wanted to be out there. And if we absolutely needed him, we would have been able to go to him and rely on him.”
Porzingis actually had a positive illness update after the Game 4 loss back in New York, saying that was the best he had felt in a while. But the mysteriousness of the illness has been his changing status game-to-game; that was the case Wednesday. Porzingis has described feeling “crashes” where he physically can’t give it all some days and how he can sleep for 12 straight hours some nights.
Porzingis finished with 12 minutes played in the first half, putting up one point, one rebound and one block. He shot 0-for-3 from the field, including 0-for-2 on 3s, as it was clear he was limited. He also ended with a minus-12 as he couldn’t make an impact on the game.
Fortunately, the Celtics leaned heavily on a career night from Luke Kornet. The reserve big man was everywhere Wednesday as he put up 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks in his 25 minutes on the court. The C’s ran away from the Knicks in the second half as they cut into the series deficit, though they’re still facing elimination. Game 6 of the series is set for 8 p.m. Friday at Madison Square Garden.
“He’s great, both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said of Kornet. “Did a great job protecting the rim. Did a great job defending without fouling. Did a great job on both ends of the floor. I just thought his presence was good, especially on the rebounding. He had nine rebounds, two offensive ones. He made some big-time plays for us.”