An injury to Kristaps Porzingis put a damper on the Boston Celtics' Game 4 win over the Miami Heat.
Porzingis suffered a non-contact injury to his right calf during the second quarter of Monday's matchup. He limped to the locker room and was ruled doubtful to return with what the team called "right calf tightness."
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Porzingis missed the rest of Boston's 102-88 victory, though it appears he avoided the worst-case scenario with his injury. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported "early indications" were that Porzingis did not suffer an injury to his Achilles. The C's big man will undergo more testing on Tuesday to determine the severity.
While Porzingis was seen in a walking boot after the game, he shared an encouraging message on social media shortly after his team finished off the win.
"Good W tonight. DWhite (Derrick White) is special!! Thanks for all the support, will be good," Porzingis wrote, adding a flexed muscle emoji.
That should bring a sigh of relief to C's fans, but it's fair to assume Porzingis will miss Wednesday's Game 5 at TD Garden. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him out even longer given the nature of the injury and his importance to the team's ultimate goal of bringing Banner 18 to Boston.
Derrick White dropped a career-high 38 points to lead the Celtics to victory in Game 4. He'll be counted on to play a key role again in the potential series-clincher Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Coverage for the showdown begins at 6:30 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live on NBC Sports Boston.
