Kristaps Porzingis tendon injury similar to Curt Schilling's in 2004, Boston doctor says
DALLAS - Kristaps Porzingis is officially listed as questionable for the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Dallas Wednesday night.
He got hurt in the third quarter of Game 2 against the Mavericks, ending up with a rare tendon injury in his left leg. It's been described as a tear in the tissue that holds tendons in place.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said their medical team will ultimately decide if Porzingis plays Wednesday night, not Porzingis.
Dr. George Theodore, a sports medicine physician at Mass General Brigham, said Porzingis's injury - a torn medial retinaculum - may sound familiar to Boston Red Sox fans.
"If it's a partial tear, potentially they could tape it and brace it," he told WBZ-TV. "I've had some experience with this in the past when we took care of Curt Schilling."
Schilling's performance with the injury against the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series became known as the "bloody sock game." He also pitched with the injury in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
"It was a similar injury, a tear of the retinaculum," Dr. Theodore said. "We did some unusual things to try to get him through the World Series. I don't know if that's applicable here or whether the tendon is truly out of position and cannot be fixed."
The Boston Celtics are currently 9-1 without Kristaps Porzingis in the NBA Playoffs. They lead the Dallas Mavericks two games to none in the NBA Finals.