Kristaps Porzingis hints that he's returning Friday night vs. Knicks

BOSTON -- The Celtics would rather be playing in Las Vegas on Thursday night, but they have to settle for a Friday night showdown with the Knicks at TD Garden. At least Boston should get Kristaps Porzingis back for that contest.

"I will be lined up for the next game," Porzingis shared on his Instagram account (in Latvian) on Wednesday morning. And he certainly looked like he was ready to return to action during Wednesday's practice in Brighton.

The Boston big man has missed the last four games with a calf strain that he suffered in the C's In-Season Tournament loss to the Magic in Orlando back on Nov. 24. He missed four games with the injury, with Boston going 3-1 in his absence.

Unfortunately, that one loss was in the IST's knockout round Monday night, when the Celtics lost a road tilt to the Indiana Pacers, 122-112. So instead of playing the Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinals Thursday night in Las Vegas, the Celtics have a home game against the Knicks.

It will be the third time that the Celtics and the Knicks square off this season. Boston won both of the previous matchups, with Porzingis averaging 25.5 points off 57.7 percent shooting and 7.0 rebounds against his former team.

In his first season with the Celtics, Porzingis has averaged 18.9 points and 6.7 rebounds over 15 games.