Many expected the Boston Celtics to sweep the Miami Heat in the first round, especially since Jimmy Butler has been ruled out for several weeks due to an injury. But the Heat bucked the odds in Game 2 on Wednesday night, defeating the Celtics 111-101 at TD Garden.
There were several reasons why the Celtics lost to an understaffed Heat team, one of which was big man Kristaps Porzingis’ disappointing performance, which saw him shoot only 1/9 from the field and go 4/4 from the free throw line for six points.
Boston Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis Struggled Mightily in Game 2 Loss to the Heat
Porzingis had eight rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks, but that wasn’t enough to keep him from joining a humiliating all-time franchise club of Celtics players with a plus/minus rating of minus-32 or worse in a playoff game. After 30 minutes of jogging up and down the court, the Latvian unicorn came in at minus-32.
Social Media Reacts To Porzingis’ Bad Night vs Miami
“I knew Luka hate was real when Porzingis openly admitted he quit in the playoffs while on the Mavs and y’all still sided with him lol, posted @CuhWristChin_ on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter).
“KP has to be better. Half of everyone’s excitement about Boston this year is what Porzingis does for them. Can’t ever be that quiet or let Bam dominate like that,” said @JonesOnTheNBA.
“Porzingis is having a lot of issues with foul line post-ups tonight. “Now 1 for 9 overall,” replied Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
Despite the crushing loss to the Heat and his disappointing performance in Game 2, Porzingis and the Celtics are not doomed. Perhaps Wednesday’s loss served as a timely reminder to Boston that nothing in the playoffs will come easily.
Porzingis will seek to rebound in Game 4 as the Celtics go to the Heat’s home arena, the Kaseya Center.
