Kristaps Porzingis to miss Game 3 of NBA Finals with leg injury

This article was originally written in English by Nick Goss para NBCSports Boston.

Kristaps Porzingis will miss Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night due to a rare left leg injury suffered in Game 2 of the series.

The Celtics announced Tuesday that Porzingis had a “torn medial retinaculum that allowed the dislocation of the posterior tibial tendon in his left leg.” He was officially ruled out a few hours before the start of the third game.

The injury occurred late in the third quarter during Sunday’s Game 2 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden.

Porzingis’ status for the remainder of the series is unknown. Game 4 is Friday in Dallas and Game 5 is Monday night in Boston.

Kristaps Porzingis suffered the injury during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Al Horford will start at center, which he has done in every playoff game in which Porzingis has not played. The real question is who else will get minutes at center if Porzingis is unavailable.

The Celtics could play Jayson Tatum at center in some small lineups. But if Mavericks center Dereck Lively II is on the court, the Celtics will likely need at least one center in their lineup. Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Oshae Brissett are options for head coach Joe Mazzulla.

The loss of Porzingis is a real setback for the Celtics. He played fantastic during the first two games, both as a scorer and as a rim protector. His five blocks in two games are one more than the Mavs’ team total. Boston also outscored Dallas by 25 points during Porzingis’ 44 minutes in the first two games.

The Celtics lead the series 2-0. Game 3 is scheduled to kick off at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

2024-06-12 23:29:12
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