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Kristaps Porzingis made his first appearance at TD Garden on Wednesday night as a member of the Warriors. The former Celtics center has played just six games with his new team since being acquired at the trade deadline from the Hawks.
The big man spent two years in Boston, including winning a title in 2024 before the team traded him away last summer in a cost-cutting move. In his return, the Celtics gave him a tribute video before handing Porzingis and the Warriors a 120-99 defeat.
“I knew I was going to get a nice ovation,” Porzingis said. ‘I had a great time here, a great couple of years. I know the fans have appreciated me and it was good to be back here, honestly.”
The return turned a bit sour for Porzingis as the game wore on with Boston limited the big man to 4-of-13 shooting from the field in his 22 minutes.
“I mean, they know me very well, honestly, they did a super good job tonight on me,” Porzingis said. “I didn’t shoot the ball well, but they know me best. Hats off to them.”
It was the third straight win for Boston as the team improved to 5-1 in games Jayson Tatum has played since his return. With Boston firmly holding onto the No. 2 seed in the East, Porzingis was very optimistic about the upside for his former teammates just two years after a title win.
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“Honestly they already have this DNA, championship, so they have to go for it,” Porzingis said. “I don’t think they need to put any limit, with those two guys, leading them, they have all the possibilities again. Of course, maybe it’s not the same team, but still they have a strong, strong team and they’re in a situation now where nobody really expects them maybe to, to do all that, so it’s even better for them.”
The seven-footer also liked what he saw from Tatum but couldn’t help but throw a friendly jab at his former frontcourt partner after he scored 24 points and 10 rebounds.
“He looks good, honestly,” Porzingis said. “Shot was falling already. He looked like he’s not rusty at all. He just looked a little heavy. I told him you need to lose a couple pounds and he’ll be flying again.”
The Celtics won’t see Porzingis again until next season after completing their season sweep over the Warriors on Wednesday night. However, Tatum embraced the opportunity to reconnect with Porzingis after a challenging season for the big man.
“I miss the big fella,” Tatum said. “Happy to see him healthy, happy to see him out there playing. It was cool to see the reception that he got tonight and his tribute video. It wasn’t that long ago, but those were some good times, and we had some good moments. He’ll forever be a Celtic and be remembered for those two years, and obviously being a big piece of why we won a championship. So it was cool. Every guy that was on that championship team, we’re bonded for life, so it’s always good to see KP.”
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