The Boston Celtics will be without forward Kristaps Porzingis on Wednesday when they attempt to close out a first-round playoff series in Game 5 against the visiting Miami Heat.
Porzingis was diagnosed with a right soleus strain, the same injury that the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo sustained near the close of the regular season and has kept him out of the playoffs so far.
As of now, Porzingis only has been ruled out for Game 5 of the Celtics’ current series.
In the second quarter of Game 4, Porzingis caught a pass from Jaylen Brown and began to drive before giving it back to Brown and hobbling off the court and into the locker room. It didn’t appear that anybody made contact with Porzingis.
In his first season with the Celtics, after an offseason trade, Porzingis has been a key piece to the team’s success, averaging 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in the regular season.
He had seven points and three rebounds in 14 minutes on Monday, dropping his playoff averages to 12.3 points and five rebounds per contest in the Miami series.
