The Latvian center of the Boston Celtics, Kristaps Porzingis, returned to regular-season action last night.
The 7-foot-2-inch-tall NBA star played in the Monday game against the Los Angeles Clippers inside TD Garden in Boston to the roaring approval of the fans in attendance.
Porzingis, who played in the final game that won the Celtics their 18th banner this past summer, underwent foot surgery after the NBA Finals and has been absent from play for the past five months.
The Celtics ended up trouncing the Clippers, the final score being 94-126. Porzingis’ long reach and defensive capabilities helped allow such a blowout.
Kristaps Porzingis stats
In this past game, Porzingis scored 16 points, had 6.0 rebounds and shot behind the arc 16.7%.
The Celtics center has a career points average of 19.6 and has shot behind the arc 36.0% on average throughout his tenure in the league.
Kristaps Porzingis injury
The Celtics have said that Porzingis had suffered a rare foot injury this past summer.
Porzingis sustained a “torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon” in Boston’s 105-98 victory against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
The Latvian-born athlete had successful foot surgery in the offseason that took him off the court for the past five months. He has been going through the NBA’s injury protocols until he was cleared for Monday’s game.
