It was easy to fear the worst when Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis suffered a calf injury late in the first half Monday night against the Miami Heat and limped off the floor.
But Porzingis, who left Kaseya Center in a walking boot, gave Celtics fans hope that he didn’t sustain a serious injury when he took to social media with a promising message following Boston’s 102-88 Game 4 win.
“Good W tonight. DWhite it special!!” Porzingis posted on the X platform. “Thanks for all the support, will be good.”
The Celtics announced at halftime that Porzingis suffered right calf tightness and he did not return.
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A potential season-ending injury was feared for Porzingis given the nature of his injury. He caught a pass from Jaylen Brown behind the arc and took a dribble to his left, but grimaced during the middle of the play. He didn’t appear to be touched before coming up lame and immediately called to the bench to be subbed out. Porzingis briefly lifted his jersey over his head as he made his way to the locker room.
But all signs seem to point to Porzingis avoiding the worst possible outcome. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that “Porzingis will undergo imaging on Tuesday but early indications are that he hasn’t sustained an Achilles injury.”
Porzingis, as his social media post showed and as his teammates saw in the locker room after the game, appeared to be in a good mood despite the injury.
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“I touched base with him,” Al Horford told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston. “He’s in good spirits, but we don’t know what it’s going to be. I’m just hoping it’s nothing serious and he can get back to us quick.”
Porzingis played 14 minutes in the win and scored seven points on 1-for-5 shooting before exiting with 2:27 left in the second quarter.
While he watched the rest of the game from the locker room, Porzingis was glad to see Derrick White go off for a playoff career-high 38 points in the win.
Featured image via Michael Laughlin/USA TODAY Sports Images
