Porzingis day-to-day with 'serious' leg injury
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters Tuesday that Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with a "serious injury" but is "doing anything and everything" to play in Game 3.
The Celtics announced Tuesday that Porzinigis is day-to-day after sustaining a dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg in the third quarter of Sunday's Game 2 versus the Dallas Mavericks, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps. It is unrelated to his right calf ailment.
Porzingis is officially listed as questionable for Wednesday's contest.
Celtics say latest Porzingis injury occurred with 3:27 left in the third quarter of Game 2. This — a box-out collision with Dereck Lively — is the only thing I see of note at that time. He moves more gingerly on his left leg afterward. Stayed in for an additional 2:45. pic.twitter.com/iVcN9GVWyN
— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) June 11, 2024
"At the end of the day, the medical team is not going to put him in any bad situations. We've taken the decision to play out of his hands," Mazzulla added.
Porzingis returned to the lineup for the Finals opener after missing the Celtics' previous 10 postseason contests due to a calf strain. The big man made an immediate impact off the bench in Game 1, tallying 20 points, six boards, and three blocks in 20 minutes.
Porzingis managed to play for nearly three minutes after suffering the injury in Game 2 and is determined not to miss any time.
There's no indication that Porzingis will be ruled out of Wednesday's contest, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
"Nothing is gonna stop me unless I'm told I'm not allowed to play," Porzingis told reporters, including Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.