Celtics' Porzingis misses Game 3 win in Finals
Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis missed the team's 106-99 Game 3 win of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
Porzingis is dealing with a "serious" leg injury, according to Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla.
The Latvian is day-to-day after suffering a dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg in the third quarter of Sunday's Game 2 win. The injury is unrelated to the calf strain that sidelined him for 10 contests earlier in the playoffs.
The Celtics are now one game away from the franchise's 18th NBA title.
"I'll be back this series," Porzingis told Jared Greenberg of NBA TV.
Mazzulla said the medical team decided to have Porzingis sit for Wednesday's contest.
He came off the bench for the team's first two NBA Finals contests, scoring 20 and 12 points in the respective contests. Porzingis said after the win that the injury wasn't serious enough to sit out and that he "would die out there" on the court.
Porzingis is averaging 13.5 points, five rebounds, 1.8 blocks, and 1.3 assists in six postseason games this season. The Celtics are 9-1 without him in the playoffs since he suffered the calf strain in the first round against the Miami Heat.
The Celtics can take a 3-0 series lead with a victory over the Mavericks.