Kristaps Porzingis missed two games while dealing with a knee injury, but the New York Knicks star expects to return Thursday against the Boston Celtics.
According to Al Iannazzone of Newsday, Porzingis said Wednesday that his knee is pretty much 100 percent and he’s looking for redemption.
“I want to play. Especially remembering the last game we had against them, we want to go out there and play strong tomorrow and have a good game. I’m excited for [Thursday’s] game.”
When the Knicks and Celtics played in October, Boston cruised to a 110-89 victory. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 23 points, while Jayson Tatum scored 22 and Kyrie Irving added 20 for the winners.
And it was a rough day for the Knicks.
Porzingis connected on just 3-of-14 attempts, which remains his worst shooting game of the season. He mustered 12 points while failing to record an assist, also committing two turnovers.
As a team, New York hit a single three-pointer in 12 tries while surrendering 14 trifectas to Boston. It was the Knicks’ third straight loss to open the season, and they appeared to be headed down a woeful path.
Since then, however, Porzingis and Co. have fared much better and steadily risen the Eastern Conference standings. With an improved team and Porzingis back in the lineup, New York should actually be competitive this time around.