Heat too much for Porzingis

But Celtics center vows he will adjust

The Celtics trailed the Heat by 9 with just under five minutes left in Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series Wednesday when they got a key stop and pushed the ball upcourt seeking one final burst.

Kristaps Porzingis, who struggled all night, had just reentered the game after an unusually long break, and the Celtics turned to him for a jolt. The 7-foot-2inch center posted up the 6-5 Caleb Martin, the kind of matchup the Celtics will be able to seek often against Miami’s switching scheme.

But Martin pushed Porzingis out of his sweet spot by the time Jrue Holiday’s entry pass arrived. When Miami’s Jaime Jaquez showed a double-team by jabbing in Porzingis’s direction, the center kicked the ball back out to Holiday and reset against Martin.

This time, his positioning seemed more preferable. But when Holiday slid another pass to the big man, Martin reached in and knocked it away as Porzingis fell to the floor. There would be no jolt.

The Celtics acquired Porzingis last summer in large part because the Heat exposed the vulnerabilities of their big men in last season’s conference finals, which Miami won in seven games. His diverse offensive game is well-suited to create challenges for teams that deploy zone defenses and switch-heavy man-toman schemes.

Porzingis had an excellent regular season and was the primary reason the Celtics boosted their win total by seven games, but his second playoff game against the Heat turned into a forgettable night. He made just 1 of 9 shots and committed two turnovers, and the Celtics were outscored by 32 points during his 30 minutes on the floor in their 111101 loss that even the series at 1-all.

After practice Thursday, Porzingis acknowledged that the Heat had success against him by doing everything a bit “extra.”

“Swiping at the ball, handsy and swiping at those possessions worked out for them,” he said. “It’s small margins, like us getting a little bit better position, a little bit cleaner look at the pass, a little bit better positioning. It makes a big difference.

“They did a hell of a job, to be honest, and I didn’t have a good offensive game at all.”

All season, Porzingis’s presence served as a safety valve for the Celtics. If the 3-point shots were not falling or stars Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown were scuffling, they could simply dump the ball to Porzingis in the post, where so many options were instantly created.

Sometimes he would simply turn and shoot over smaller defenders. Sometimes he would draw a doubleteam and find an open man. Sometimes he would head to the arc and stretch a defense with his long-range shooting.

And the expectation is that he will still do all of these things quite well throughout what figures to be a long playoff run. But for one night, at least, Miami exposed some vulnerability by creating confusion.

“They do this on one possession and do another thing on another possession and then they switch and then they don’t,” Porzingis said. “That can freeze you a little bit, because you start to think a little bit, then you rush a little bit into the next action.

“It’s this game they play, the game in the game, and they’re good at that. So you have to give them credit, but we’ll see going forward.”

Several times, the Heat’s smaller defenders battled for position and pestered Porzingis by swiping at entry passes. He also missed some relatively simple shots that he typically converts. The Celtics believe that only minor adjustments will be needed to unlock Porzingis, but they understand it will be important.

“I just think it’s just recognizing the coverages and matchups that he has and being able to hit those solutions quicker,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “They’re doing a good job of changing some of that, but they’re also doing a good job of just being physical. And so you have to work through that physicality.

“Again, it comes down to the simple things and the higher duress. We just have to be better at those.”

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Celtics center Luke Kornet, who has missed the first two games of this series with a calf strain, did some light oncourt work Thursday, and his status for Game 3 remains unclear.