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Kristaps Porzingis' Top 5 Career Performances – NBA.com
The Boston Celtics gained another All-Star this summer with the addition of 7-foot-3 center/forward Kristaps Porzingis. As the 28-year-old gets ready for his first season in green, we’re taking a look back at his Top 5 career performances to date, which include three explosive efforts from the past year.
No. 5 on this list happens to be the most recent game that Porzingis played. It also happened to come against his future Celtics team. On March 28, Porzingis and the Washington Wizards delivered a surprise beatdown to a Celtics team that, at the time, had been fighting Milwaukee for the No. 1 seed. Porzingis posted a well-rounded stat line of 32 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block to help the Wizards cast off the C’s, 130-111. He shot 14-of-21 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and knocked down his only free-throw attempt of the game. Washington was plus-26 during Porzingis’ 34 minutes on the court, during which he didn’t commit a single turnover. Little did we know at the time that it would not only be Porzingis’ last game in a Wizards uniform but also that he would be switching sides to join the last team he bested.
Dallas’ All-NBA point guard Luka Doncic was ruled out less than an hour before a March 1, 2020 tip-off in Minnesota, but that hiccup just opened the door for his star frontcourt mate to go out and have the best performance of his Mavericks career. Porzingis poured in 38 points to go along with 13 rebounds, four assists, one steal, and five blocks, all in less than 37 minutes of action, leading the Mavs to an easy, 111-91 win. It marked the second time in NBA history that a player recorded at least 35 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks, and five 3-pointers in a game. The first instance also happened to be accomplished by Porzingis on Dec. 12, 2017, when he was a member of the New York Knicks.
Just a month prior to that Dec. 12 game, Porzingis put forth the best performance of his three-season tenure with the Knicks. On Nov. 5, 2017, he erupted for the first 40-point effort of his career while shooting 15-of-24 from the field, 2-of-4 from long range, and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in a 108-101 win over the Indiana Pacers. Not only was he a scoring machine in this game, but he was also a menace on the defensive end where he blocked six shots, just one shy of his career-high. New York entered the fourth quarter trailing by 12 before closing out with a 36-17 frame. Porzingis matched Indiana in the scoring column during that quarter with 17 points of his own.
The best scoring performance of Porzingis’ career came just 20 days prior to his March Boston beatdown when he dropped 43 points in a 122-120 loss to the visiting Atlanta Hawks. He was extremely efficient from all over the floor, making 10-of-12 from inside the 3-point arc, 7-of-10 from outside the arc, and 2-of-3 from the free-throw line. He also logged a pair of fives in the rebounds and assists departments, while turning the ball over just once in about 38 minutes of action. Despite the loss, the Wizards were plus-8 when Porzingis was on the floor and he finished the game with a perfect 4-for-4 effort from 3-point range in the fourth quarter.
Poor Minnesota finds itself on this list again – this time as the victim of the No. 1 spot. On Nov. 28, 2022, Porzingis logged a then-career-high 41 points while shooting 12-of-18 from the field, 6-of-10 from deep, and a perfect 11-for-11 from the charity stripe. He also recorded four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and three blocks, and he pulled it all off in less than 31 minutes. Porzingis’ effort spearheaded the highest-scoring effort of the season for Washington – a 142-127 thrashing of the Timberwolves – and it was also the most impressive performance of his career to date.
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