Kristaps Porzingis immediately makes impact on NBA Finals in Boston Celtics return

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics didn’t “miss” Kristaps Porzingis in that they reached the NBA Finals with Porzingis sidelined due to right calf injury.

But the Celtics missed his production, and that was evident in Porzingis’ return to the rotation Thursday in Game 1 of the Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.

Playing for the first time since April 29, Porzingis had 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting, three rebounds and two blocks in the first half as the Celtics built an impressive 63-42 halftime lead.

Coming off the bench, Porzingis, who spent two-plus seasons with Dallas, was the early star. He entered the game with 7:17 left in the first quarter and scored 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting.

The Mavs tried several defenders on the 7-foot-2 Latvian but he continued to make shots.

With Porzingis on the court alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, the Celtics have the best five-man rotation in the league offensively and defensively

Asked what he expected from Porzingis, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said, “Same thing he’s done for us all year. Defense, offense, communication, play hard. Just what he’s done for us over the course of the season that’s helped us get here.”

The strained calf sustained in Game 4 against Miami forced him to miss the rest of the Heat first-round series and all the second-round series against Cleveland and the sweep against Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals.

“Feeling good,” Porzingis said Wednesday. “It was a long road to get to this point for me. But feeling good. Looking forward to practice, moving around a little bit more, then being ready to go (Thursday).”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kristaps Porzingis impacts Game 1 of NBA Finals in Celtics return