Porzingis rusty but provides spark in 12-point Warriors debutAnthony SlaterFeb 20, 2026, 01:50 AM ETMultiple Authors
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SAN FRANCISCO — Kristaps Porzingis made his Warriors debut Thursday night in a 121-110 home loss to the Boston Celtics that never felt close.
This was only Porzingis’ 18th game of the season and his first since Jan. 7, when he was with the Atlanta Hawks, nearly a month before his deadline trade to the Warriors.
Because of that, the Warriors slow-played his return, bringing Porzingis off the bench and limiting him to 17 minutes. Porzingis opened slow, missing his first two shots and struggling to keep up with a Celtics’ offensive avalanche.
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Boston outscored the Warriors 38-19 in the second quarter and led by 32 when Porzingis reentered the game late in the third quarter. Celtics star Jaylen Brown finished with 23 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists.
“Boston was incredible,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr mentioned. “They’re having an amazing season. They’re a machine right now.”
But the Warriors did rally and briefly threatened to cut the Boston lead to single digits, in part because of a Porzingis surge. He hit two long 3s, had a pair of successful post-ups and finished with 12 points. The Warriors outscored the Celtics by 15 points with Porzingis on the court in the second half after a minus-19 during his minutes in the first half.
“He just looked more comfortable and settled in,” Kerr mentioned.
Kristaps Porzingis, right, played only 17 minutes in his first game since Jan. 7 but scored 12 points in Thursday’s loss to the Celtics. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLOPorzingis mentioned he’d like to up his minutes “as quickly as possible.””Even tonight, I would’ve liked to go longer,” Porzingis mentioned. “Even if I’m exhausted out there, I still want to push myself. But I know I have to take it step by step. Add a couple minutes next game hopefully.”The Warriors face the Denver Nuggets on Sunday (12:30 p.m. PT, ABC). They will remain without Jimmy Butler, who tore his ACL and is done for the season, and Stephen Curry, whose persistent right knee issue will keep him sidelined at least four games.
Without their two best players, the reeling Warriors have dropped to 29-27 and need Porzingis to gain a rhythm and gear up rapidly for a needed offensive boost.
“I felt all right,” Porzingis mentioned. “Far from being in perfect shape. But I think for first game back after a while, getting some energy back, I’m feeling good.”
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