The Golden State Warriors were back on the court Thursday night after the NBA All-Star break. They played host to the Boston Celtics in a rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals. While Stephen Curry remains out with a knee injury, the Warriors finally got a new star into the lineup.

Kristaps Porzingis made his Golden State debut on Thursday.

Upon checking into the game and being announced over the PA, Porzingis received an ovation from the home Warriors crowd.

The Warriors traded with the Atlanta Hawks for Porzingis ahead of the NBA trade deadline. It was an interesting move, especially considering Golden State's positioning in the stacked Western Conference. Curry's knee injury sustained after that certainly has made the move look a bit worse.

Nevertheless, the big man from Latvia is sure to make a positive impact.

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Thursday night, the Warriors hosted the Celtics team that Porzingis won his lone championship with. Boston won the NBA title two seasons ago, with Porzingis making a big impact, despite missing time via injury.

Injuries have wreaked havoc throughout his career. The 10-year veteran has only played 18 games this season, having missed time for several reasons. He has missed between 16 and 39 games in each of the last nine seasons of his career.

But Warriors coach Steve Kerr is highly optimistic that Porzingis will be able to make a solid contribution the rest of the season. Unfortunately for the Dubs, the Celtics are getting the best of Golden State.

Boston jumped out to a 23-point halftime lead, as of this writing. Porzingis has five points in seven minutes played.