NEW YORK — Despite the four stitches on the bridge of his nose and shiner beneath his right eye, Kristaps Porzingis came out of Tuesday’s overtime win over the New York Knicks feeling good.
The Celtics big man had fully recovered from the series of lower leg injuries that limited him early in the season and was nearly back to 100% from a conditioning standpoint after missing eight straight games with an illness last month. If he gets “a few days off” before the playoffs, Porzingis said, he’d feel “perfect.”
“Just rejuvenate the body,” he said after Boston’s 119-117 victory at Madison Square Garden, “and yeah, I’ll be ready to go.”
Porzingis would like to see one of his teammates, Jaylen Brown, take a similar approach.
Brown has been playing through what he’s described as a painful right knee injury. He put up quality numbers in games against Miami (24 points, nine rebounds, four assists) and Phoenix (31 points, five rebounds, three assists) last week but looked objectively limited against New York. Brown played just 22 minutes and recorded a season-low six points on 2-of-8 shooting with five rebounds, one assist and three turnovers.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla kept Brown on the bench for the entire fourth quarter and overtime, saying after the game that the team “just got what we needed to get out of him as he continues to push himself and test himself.”
Why is Brown playing at all in games that are essentially meaningless for the Celtics, who are locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference? Last year’s NBA Finals MVP has said he’s choosing to suit up rather than rest because he knows his knee injury could linger into the playoffs and wants to hone his game to be effective amid potential physical limitations.
It’s not, he’s claimed, related to the 65-game threshold players must reach to qualify for most end-of-season awards, including the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams, though his recent usage suggests otherwise. After sitting out five games between March 14 and March 31, Brown needed to play at least 20 minutes in all but one of Boston’s final seven contests to reach that benchmark; he played just under 22 minutes in each of his last two appearances.
Regardless of Brown’s motivation, Porzingis wants him to prioritize his health.
“He’s a tough dude,” Porzingis said after scoring 34 points and hitting eight 3-pointers against the Knicks, including a go-ahead three in overtime. “He’s a tough dude. He always preaches his warrior mindset and he lives by it, but to what extent do we need that right now? Maybe he needs to take care of it and make sure he’s going to be ready for the most important moments. So I think we just have to urge him to make sure he does everything he needs to prepare, to get it healthy and to prepare for what’s going to come. And I think he’s a smart guy, so he will. It just shows his heart and how bad he wants to be out there even for games that don’t mean super much for us right now. But that’s who he is, and I appreciate him for that.”
Jayson Tatum said the Celtics are doing what they can to support Brown, who’s also battled hip, shoulder and back injuries this season.
“Just being there for him as much as you can,” Tatum said. “We’ve all been there to a certain extent. It’s tough. We work really hard on our craft and try to prepare ourselves to be at our best and it’s tough mentally when you’re out there and you maybe can’t do the things that you normally do. So it’s a mental hurdle that you have to fight, but that’s why it’s a team sport. We have teammates that have your back, cover for you and just help you get through things.”
Brown did not speak with reporters after Tuesday’s win.
The Celtics have three games left on their regular-season schedule, beginning with the second end of a two-city back-to-back Wednesday night in Orlando. That would be a logical spot for Mazzulla to rest many of his regulars, all of whom played against the Knicks except for veteran big man Al Horford.
Boston then will close out its season with home games against the lottery-bound Charlotte Hornets on Friday and Sunday before tipping off its first-round playoff series next weekend.