WASHINGTON — Kristaps Porzingis finally made his debut for the Washington Wizards — and it didn’t take long for him to make a big impact.
Porzingis scored 25 points in his first game with the Washingtons as the Wizards defeated the Indiana Pacers 133-123 on Sunday night. Porzingis has recovered from a bruised right knee bone and is playing for the first time since the Wizards acquired him from Dallas in a trade nearly a month ago.
It was his first game since January 29th. He started and played a significant role despite playing only 21:19.
“Happy to be there with the minute limit,” Porzingis said. “I tried to stay calm, not to do too much, to play correctly. Most importantly, we won.”
Kyle Kuzma scored 23 points for the Wizards, who took control of the game with 39 points in the third quarter. Washington is two games ahead of Brooklyn, Charlotte and Atlanta, who would have finished in the last three spots in the Eastern Conference play-in round if the season ended now.
Washington went straight for the 7-foot-3 Porzingis on his first offensive possession with a cross. He could not hit the ball to the end, but he managed to score the ball. Later in the first half, Porzingis made another highlight when he blocked Oshae Brissette near the basket, although Brissett scored against Porzingis right after.
With Indiana hitting three balls late in the fourth, Kuzma blocked the shot and Porzingis performed a one-handed dunk on the other end, giving the Wizards a 124–119 lead.
“Everyone was happy to find me, and then Dany [Avdija] made a canopy at the end, – said Porzingis. “It was a great moment for the first game here in Washington and I look forward to many more moments like this.”
Malcolm Brogdon made two free throws for Indiana with 1:35 left, but Porzingis dunked again after an offensive rebound.
“Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by his conditioning,” said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. “I know we had to be mindful of the stretches he was going to play, but he handled it well.”
Brogdon scored 27 points for the Pacers, who lost 11 of 14.
“Just finding gaps in defense trying to be aggressive,” said Brogdon, who made 11 of 13 free throws. “The team needs to score and I’m trying to provide it.”
Indiana led 61-57 at halftime, but the Wizards threw 61% from the field in the third quarter to take a 96-87 lead in the fourth. After the Pacers started the final period with four straight points, Porzingis hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to eight.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.