Kristaps Porzingis dazzled in his return from injury as the Boston Celtics dominated on both ends of the floor to beat the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
Porzingis, who missed 10 games after straining his right calf in the first round of the playoffs, made an immediate impact in his return, as the Celtics built a 29-point lead in the first half before thwarting the Mavericks' third-quarter surge to gain the upper hand in the best-of-seven championship series in front of a raucous home crowd.
Porzingis came off the bench against his former team and scored 11 points with three rebounds and a pair of big blocks as Boston jumped out to a 37-20 lead at the end of the first quarter.