Kristaps Porzingis scores 30, seals win at MSG in Celtics debut - ESPN

NEW YORK — It took no time at all for Kristaps Porzingis to make his presence felt with his new team.

Porzingis finished with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots — including scoring nine straight points to put Boston ahead for good late in the fourth quarter — to lead the Celtics to a 108-104 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.

«That was awesome,» Porzingis said, with a very broad smile, when asked how it felt to take down his former team in his first game with his new one. «That was awesome, I'm not going to lie. Playing here at the Garden is always special as the home team, obviously, but also on the road here it's really fun.

»At one point it got really crazy when the fans got into it and they made the comeback. But we stayed poised, we stayed calm and we were able to finish out the game.

«Overall, a fun game to play in, for sure.»

It was a dream start for Porzingis, as he set a franchise record for most points in a Celtics debut, surpassing Dominique Wilkins' 25 in 1994.

He showed off his versatility, too. He paced Boston in both 3s, hitting 5 of the 12 Celtics, while also leading the team with a 9-for-10 showing from the free throw line. He blocked four shots, altered several more and finished a game-high plus-13 in 38 minutes.

«He has an innate ability to put two on the ball, whether they're trying to pop and veer, whether they're trying to blitz him, and so when he gets the space, he's a magnet,» Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. «So we just have to continue to get better at our spacing, get better at our 2-on-1 reads, and they're going to look different than they did at times last year with him on the floor. But, because of him, we can get to some more post ups like