Joe Mazzulla Provides Massive Update on Kristaps Porzingis Mysterious Illness

The Boston Celtics suffered a tough Game 1 loss against the New York Knicks on Monday night. They blew a 20-point lead and lost the game in overtime.

While the loss stung, losing their big man, Kristaps Porzingis, was equally painful. Porzingis missed the entire second half after starting the game due to an illness.

On Tuesday, head coach Joe Mazzulla provided a massive update on Porzingis, saying the illness is connected to the one he had previously.

“Since he came back, he’s kind of been dealing with it — working through it, fighting through it, doing the best he can,” Mazzulla said. “And I think it was just too much for him in that game. He had been working through it since he’s gotten back, and he’s done a great job of being available. It was just hard for him to continue yesterday.”

Sounds like Kristaps Porzingis's illness IS connected to his previous one:

Joe Mazzulla: "He had been working through it since he's gotten back and he's done a great job of being available. It was just hard for him to continue yesterday."
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) May 6, 2025

Porzingis played only 13 minutes and recorded zero points in the contest.

The 29-year-old dealt with an undisclosed illness in mid-March prior to returning for the last handful of games of the season. When he returned in a game against the Brooklyn Nets in March, he was vague on the details of his illness.

“For a week, [I was] really just laying at home, trying to recover,” Porzingis said. “And then after that, I still had lingering fatigue. And, I still have it a little bit, but at least now, I’m getting into, more or less, shape to be able to play. But yeah, after each workout, I was — boom, big crash. So, I was really, really fatigued. Not normal.”

“It was extremely, extremely frustrating not knowing what I had. I haven’t been this sick, probably ever, in my life.”

The fact that he has been fighting through it for some time makes sense. His first-round series against the Orlando Magic was not the best, as he averaged 12 points per game on a poor 35.2 percent shooting from the field.

His start to the second-round series against New York was not pretty earthy. His status for the rest of the series remains unclear. Game 2 of the series will be on Wednesday, as they will host the Knicks and aim to tie the series.

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