It was the whole lot the Garden envisioned — but in green and white.
A decade after being chosen as the longer term of the Knicks, Kristaps Porzingis saved top-of-the-line performances of his profession to serve his former team with its most painful lack of the season, scoring 34 points (8-for-13 3-pointers) — including the game-winning shot with 41.2 seconds left in additional time — within the Celtics’ 119-117 win Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
“Playing here, it’s at all times really fun,” Porzingis said. “The fans are super into the sport. They love the Knicks. I enjoyed playing here as a house player and now also on the road.”
The previous fan favorite began slow, scoring just two points in the primary quarter, but soon unleashed a string of deep 3s, benefiting from the wide-open looks repeatedly offered.
The injury-prone big man, who has been limited to 40 games this season, played the a part of the “unicorn” that Kevin Durant discovered, the player with limitless potential and inimitable skill, whose lone All-Star Game selection got here with the Knicks in 2018.
Leading the Celtics back from an early 11-point hole, Porzingis stole the show within the third quarter, hitting 4 3-pointers, including a 39-foot bomb from the emblem, which left the gang in awe and angst.
“The ball rolled to me, I said, ‘That is destiny,’ ” Porzingis said. “I let it fly without pondering an excessive amount of. Those are the very best sorts of nights, just playing free and letting it fly and shots are entering into. Once I saw the ball kept entering into, I let it fly without pondering. It was a superb night.”
Porzingis took a back seat within the fourth quarter as Jayson Tatum took over.
Then, the 7-foot-2 Latvian hit a pair of free throws to interrupt a tie with 1:51 remaining in additional time.
After Jalen Brunson’s jumper evened the sport at 112, Porzingis made considered one of his biggest shots within the constructing.
As Karl-Anthony Towns helped on a driving Derrick White, Porzingis stepped back deep beyond the arc, receiving the kick out and simply hitting the three over the outstretched arms of Brunson.
“They did a late switch and I created just a little separation,” Porzingis said. “It was a fairly deep one and I just let it fly without conscience. We were just making plays for one another down the stretch … I’m comfortable with the way in which we responded and got here out with the win.”
