Joe Mazzulla: Kristaps Porzingis ‘couldn’t breathe’ in Game 5 vs. Knicks

Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis did not play in the second half of Wednesday s Challenge win over the Knicks for a simple reason According to his coach he couldn t breathe I mean he couldn t breathe He was available if absolutely necessary So that was just a decision between me and him Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla explained after the - win He was having difficulties breathing but he demanded to be out there and if we absolutely needed him we would have been able to go to him and rely on him Mazzulla continued But you ve seen a lot of that this year Changing the lineup at halftime is something that we ve done a lot this year because it just adds a different dimension and can change certain sub patterns throughout the challenge So it s a credit to the guys just buying into what gives us the best chance to win each and every night and I know Porzingis will be ready for us Porzingis has been dealing with an unspecified respiratory illness on and off since February He s also struggled throughout Boston s second-round series against New York perhaps never more so than Wednesday In -plus minutes he finished with one point a rebound one block and two turnovers after going -of- from the floor Meanwhile his replacement Luke Kornet enjoyed a stellar night highlighted by a career-high seven blocks Kornet also added points and nine rebounds He s great both ends of the floor Mazzulla noted Did a great job protecting the rim did a great job defending without fouling did a great job on both ends of the floor I just thought his presence was good especially on the rebounding He had nine rebounds two offensive ones He made certain big-time plays for us It s unclear how the Celtics will deploy their big men Friday in Contest though if Korney s plus- is any indication Boston may stick with its backup big Friday night s tip-off is set for p m