Kristaps Porzingis will not play for the Boston Celtics in Game 3 because of a rare left hamstring injury suffered in the previous game.
The Celtics announced about two hours before kickoff that Porzingis was out for that game against the Dallas Mavericks, but coach Joe Mazzulla later left open the possibility that the center could be ready for Game 4.
Kristaps Porzingis #8 of the Boston Celtics dunks the ball.Credit: Getty Images
“The medical team and the staff decided it wasn't the best thing for him,” Mazzulla said of the third game. “It's going to be a day-to-day thing, let's see how it is tomorrow and the day after that. … It didn't look right. That was it. I wasn't involved. It was in his hands.”
Porzingis, 28, had missed 10 straight playoff games with a strained right calf before returning for the start of the NBA Finals, helping the Celtics take a 2-0 series lead against his former team.
He fired the Celtics with 11 points and two blocks in the first quarter of their game one win, then had 12 points in the game in which he was hurt.
Porzingis said he felt something after bumping his knees Sunday night with Dallas center Dereck Lively II, but continued to play. He left the game in the final minute of the third quarter and played only about 3 1/2 minutes in the quarter.
The 7-foot-2 Latvian has a tear in the tissue that holds the tendons in place. The Celtics said it was unrelated to the calf strain he suffered in Game 4 of the first round against Miami on April 29.
After the team announced the injury Tuesday, Porzingis said he was going through constant treatment and doing what the medical staff told him. He said he would do everything he could to play, but acknowledged that he “can't trick them into letting me play.”
Mazzulla had said at the time that the team was taking that decision out of Porzingis' hands.
With Porzingis out for Game 3, he has yet to play a game in Dallas since being traded by the Mavericks nearly 2 1/2 years ago.
AP
