Kristaps Porzingis Says Celtics Were 'Silent' in Locker Room After Loss to Kings

The Boston Celtics may have finally hit some actual adversity this season, after all.

In a 114-97 blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings, Boston got completely manhandled by three-time All-Star Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who finished with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field (3-of-4 from long range) and an insane 28 rebounds, along with three assists and a block.

Dominant Domas vs. BOS 💪 ⤵️:

👑 23 PTS
👑 28 PTS
👑 66% FG

😤 😤 😤 😤 😤 pic.twitter.com/YQbUVhptj6
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) January 11, 2025

Sabonis' big night marked the first time a player had finished with at least 20 points and 25 rebounds against the Celtics since 1971, when Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then with the Milwaukee Bucks, managed that line.

Starting Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, normally a very good rim protector and an okay man-to-man defender away from the basket, was virtually powerless to stop Sabonis, who can shoot from anywhere.

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Per The Celtics Files, a frustrated Porzingis postgame revealed that the mood in Boston's locker room was sour. But Porzingis' quote also alluded to some resilience and internal fortitude, as clearly he for one believes that a championship-caliber club should react that way to a major loss.

Kristaps Porzingis postgame after loss to #Kings and what the vibes are like in the locker room:

“Not a good game for us… it is what it is.. it’s supposed to hurt, like it is. Silent in the locker room, like it’s supposed to be.” #Celtics
— The Celtics Files (@CelticsFiles) January 11, 2025

“Not a good game for us," Porzingis remarked. "It is what it is... It’s supposed to hurt, like it is. Silent in the locker room, like it’s supposed to be.”

The Celtics were actually booed by their home TD Garden crowd, probably the first time that's happened all season. Strangely, Boston boasts a significantly better road record (14-4) than its home record (13-7).

Boston has now gone 8-7 across its last 15 contests, and has fallen to a still-good 27-11 record on the season. Sacramento, meanwhile, improves to .500 (19-19) and leaps into the Western Conference play-in bracket. The Kings are currently the No. 9 seed in their conference.

The Celtics are now just 2.5 games ahead of the 24-14 New York Knicks for the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed. Boston is 6.5 games behind the 33-4 Cleveland Cavaliers, who now seem likely to secure the East's No. 1 overall seed barring some disastrous injury.

It's a far cry from Boston's fairly dominant 64-18 regular season run in 2023-24, when the Celtics were the runaway No. 1 seed in the East (and overall) en route to securing their NBA-record 18th title.

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