By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
The defending NBA champions, the Boston Celtics, are down 0–2 after two games at TD Garden in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks.
After the game, head coach Joe Mazzulla and Kristaps Porzingis addressed the Latvian center’s ongoing battle with the illness that forced him to miss eight games late in the regular season.
“Since he came back, I think he’s kind of been dealing with it on and off, fighting through it, working through it, doing the best that he can, and I think it was just too much for him in that game. I didn’t know that was going to happen until I found out about it during the game. He had been working through it since he got back, and he’s done a great job of being available. It was just tough for him to continue yesterday, so we’ll see how he handles it,” Mazzulla said, per Boston.com.
Porzingis also spoke about his condition.
“I’m dealing with some— I don’t know how to call it. I’m just not feeling my best. I’m not feeling my best at all. It kills me inside that it’s happening at this moment,” the Latvian center said postgame.
He tried to explain how it’s affecting him.
“I’ve had ups and downs throughout — up until this point. Just now, I had a big crash. My energy, my everything, just hasn’t been good. But who cares? I have to look forward, and I know we’ll get better from this point on.”
Despite everything, Boston’s center knows he has to keep going, with the team down 0–2 heading into two games at Madison Square Garden.
“It’s not an injury or anything. Just not feeling my best. It’s tough for me, honestly. But who cares? Nobody feels sorry for us, sorry for me — and we have to keep going,” Porzingis concluded.