Inside The Celtics

Kristaps Porzingis Discusses Chemistry with Jaylen Brown: 'I Love Playing with Him'

While Kristaps Porzingis and Jaylen Brown are gelling rapidly, the former expressed there is considerable room for growth.

Bobby Krivitsky

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
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Saturday night at TD Garden, the Boston Celtics earned their second-straight win, a 117-94 steamrolling of the Toronto Raptors.

While the hosts' defense limited their visitors from North of the Border to fewer than 27 points each quarter, Kristaps Porzingis' impact as a screener put the Raptors, especially opposing center Jakob Poeltl, in a torture chamber.

The seven-foot-three center finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. After the victory, Boston's bench boss, Joe Mazzulla, expressed the following to Inside The Celtics about the former All-Star punishing Toronto in the pick-and-roll.

"First, his screening. He was able to help our pick-and-roll ball handler get some separation away from the screen. And they weren't veering at first, and so we were able to throw (the ball) back and get into a closeout and create a second-side action. And once they started veering, we were able to get their bigs away from the rim, and that's where we were able to either give it to him in the post or we were able to drive it without any rim protection."

USATSI_21879093
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) dunks the ball while Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) looks on.

The quality of Porziņģis' screens also paved the way for Jaylen Brown to register 29 points, leading all scorers, and Jayson Tatum to finish with 27.

Boston's All-NBA duo love coming off wide pin downs from the Latvian native, a tactic that helped Brown feast on Saturday, highlighting the growing chemistry building between him and Porzingis.

Following the win, the latter couldn't contain his smile while discussing how, as impressive as their play together is now, it's only the beginning.

"I think it's only in the beginning stages honestly," said Porzingis. He's obviously very explosive, and his physicality, he can make so much happen on the court with how he is. We're still in the beginning stages because I think our chemistry -- it's just going to get so much better. I'm telling you, you're just going to see (that) it's going to get a lot better. But I love playing with him."

Further Reading

Joe Mazzulla Shares What's 'Far Exceeded My Expectations' of Kristaps Porzingis

From Porzingis Pick-and-Rolls to Jaylen Brown Posters, Here's What Stood Out as Celtics Steamrolled Raptors

Jaylen Brown on Celtics Learning from Losses and Building Chemistry: 'It's a Learning Curve'

Celtics' Stars Shine, Bench Helps Boost Boston to Win in First In-Season Tournament Tilt

Examining What Went Wrong for Celtics' Offense in Loss vs. Timberwolves

From Self Doubt to Celtics History, Jayson Tatum Discusses Journey to 10,000 Points: 'I Didn't Think I Was Good Enough'

Jrue Holiday Discusses Celtics' Offense and Their Mindset: 'That's How Most People Like to Play Basketball'

Kristaps Porzingis Gives Glimpse of How He'll Boost Celtics Late-Game Offense

Under Joe Mazzulla, Celtics Rebuilding Brotherhood Between Past and Present

Candace Parker on Celtics Trading Marcus Smart, Maximizing Tatum-Brown Tandem, Pat Summitt, and the Sports Matter Initiative

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Bobby Krivitsky
BOBBY KRIVITSKY

Bobby Krivitsky's experiences include covering the NBA as a credentialed reporter for Basketball Insiders. He's also a national sports talk host for SportsMap Radio, a network airing on 96 radio stations throughout the country. Additionally, he was a major-market host, update anchor, and producer for IMG Audio, and he worked for Bleacher Report as an NFL and NBA columnist.

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