The Celtics are awaiting the status of Kristaps Porzingis for Game 5

The Celtics are monitoring the progression of Porzingis’ injury and whether he will make it to Game 5 against the Mavericks.

BOSTON – While The Boston Celtics are trying to close out the NBA Finals With victory About the Dallas MavericksIt remains to be seen whether Kristaps Porzingis will return to the field in Game 5 Monday night.

“I haven’t talked to him yet,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzola told reporters at TD Garden on Sunday. “I’ll talk about that before we start (training)…so I’m not sure where I stand.”

“but He is trying and doing everything he can to try to get into his position Of being there. “I’m sure he knows.”

the The Celtics have officially listed Porzingis as questionable for him Game 5.

Porzingis missed Games 3 and 4 in Dallas With a tear in the medial retinaculum that allowed him to dislocate the posterior tibial tendon in his left leg. Boston did not make Porzingis available to reporters This Sunday, though, in a brief conversation with ESPN while leaving the court, the center said so He felt better.

The 7-foot-3 Latvian, who had not played beyond the first round of the playoffs before this season, missed more than five weeks with an injury. He suffered a right calf strain in game four From a series Boston’s first round match against the Miami Heat. He returned for the NBA Finals, where Boston led +25 in the 44 minutes he played in the first two games and tied the 52 minutes he did not, before suffering an injury during Game 2.

the The Celtics said Porzingis is considered day-to-day What the team described as a “rare” injury. He missed Game 3, then was listed as active for Game 4, though Mazzola noted that Porzingis ‘wasn’t quite ready’ For game movement and will only be used in very specific circumstances.

However, none of that happened on a night in which the Mavericks completely dominated the Celtics in almost every way possible, meaning “Porzingis Watch” returned to Boston for Game 5. His status for the game will be revealed when Boston submits his mandatory injury report this Sunday.

As for the rest Celtics, you’re focused on the task at hand: finishing the job and raising the flag 18th Annual Rafters Championship at TD Park.

If the team accomplishes that task on Monday, it will mark the 16th anniversary of Boston winning its last championship, which it also did on the famous parquet floor.

Jayson Tatum admitted Sunday that the Celtics could have focused too much In an attempt to close the series with a sweep.

“I think after Game 4, (Mazzola) reminded us to have fun,” Tatum said. “We basically wanted to fight, and we wanted to win a lot so we could get away from what makes us special and what makes us the Boston Celtics.

“I reminded everyone today how important they are to this team and why we all need each other and what a person brings to the table. I think it was very important for us to address that today.”

Otherwise message The Celtics were that while they couldn’t erase what happened in Game 4They can use it as a motivational tool to set their sights and do what it takes to win the title.

Boston has been able to respond to its first two losses of these playoffs in a big way Beating the Heat in the first round and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second, Jaylen Brown said it won’t be difficult to focus on the task at hand.

“This is what we’re all working for,” Brown said. “We are close to completing what we set out to do at the beginning of the season.

“So I think it’s not that hard to get everyone in the locker room on the same page now. You just have to remind everyone that it’s just one possession at a time. We do it together and we fight like our lives depend on it…and I think we’ll be fine.”