This was the Performance Atlanta Hawks Fans Wanted To See From Kristaps Porzingis in EuroBasket

In today's matchup, Kristaps Porzingis had a dominant first half, doing everything on the court, but mainly scoring buckets against Portugal. In the first half, he finished with 17 points on 67% shooting from the field, 71% shooting from three-point range, to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Porzingis posted this stat line in just 15 minutes of play, and this game wasn't really close throughout as Latvia jumped out to an early double-digit lead and never looked back after ending the first half with a 22-point lead, 50-28.

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One of the few areas Porzingis needed to improve was his three-point shooting, including in Latvia. Today, Porzingis made 5 of 12 three-pointers, which put him at 41% for the game. However, in the first half, he shot 5 of 7, achieving a 71% shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Going into halftime, Latvia as a team shot the three-point ball extremely well, shooting 52% from three-point range.

Kristaps Porziņģis is ON FIRE in @EuroBasket play:

🔥 17 PTS
🔥 6 REB
🔥 5-7 3PM (71%)

In only 15 minutes... second half in progress!pic.twitter.com/wA92TMzvci
— NBA (@NBA) September 1, 2025

In the second half, Porzingis would play only about 10 minutes more, as Latvia ran away with the game easily today. However, he would finish with 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and a plus-25, which measures a player's overall impact on the game. Latvia's victory didn't come without adversity, as it was marred by significant injuries to key players Arturs Zagars and Andrejs Grazulis, raising concerns for Latvia moving forward. Though these injuries happened in the past week, Latvia's Coach, Luca Banchi, stated the following about the injury woes:

"When you select your 12 players, you select your best 12 players. I don’t want to say the absolutely best, but the most functional. You also go through the versatility of the players, those who can play in multiple positions. Because you have to keep in mind that shit can happen. And unfortunately for us, the shit is happening. Even too much, and too frequently"

Kristaps Porzingis looked like a shell of himself just a few months ago

Now, he’s getting MVP chants at EuroBasket and making deep 3s look effortless

It’s good to have the unicorn back pic.twitter.com/1fl8wPJ6kN
— Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) September 1, 2025

After winning this game, Latvia will now advance to the knockout round with Turkey as Serbia's win against Czechia has opened the door for Latvia to advance after losing to Serbia yesterday. This win brings Latvia closer to securing a spot in the round of 16, and today they shot the ball well in the first half, as they shot 11-21 as a team from behind the arc.

As for Portugal, they struggled with Latvia's second-quarter surge, as they built a nice lead that effectively ended the match early for them. As for their tournament hopes, Portugal will now suffer a significant setback, making them dependent on the outcomes of upcoming games to advance to the round of 16. Portugal will now face Estonia next, as they are tied for third place with three other teams. With a win against Estonia, they will likely solidify their position and advance to the next round, allowing them to make history by reaching the second round. This would also mark a significant achievement, as they have already done so by winning their first EuroBasket game in 20 years against Czechia.

Latvia and Porzingis will play against a struggling Czechia team in a likely win on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, at11:00 AM

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