Jrue Holiday reveals how he felt in his return from injury in Celtics loss to Knicks

BOSTON — Jrue Holiday served as a bright spot in the Celtics’ Game 1 loss to the Knicks in his return from injury, posting 16 points on 7-14 shooting alongside 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

That’s particularly encouraging because Holiday missed the final three games of the Celtics’ first-round series against the Orlando Magic with a right hamstring strain he suffered in Game 2.

The Celtics dropped the series opener, 108-105, and Holiday was the only starter to shoot above 35% from the field. The Celtics guard was not on the injury report ahead of Game 1.

Jrue Holiday excels against the Knicks

Holiday was primarily responsible for containing Knicks star Jalen Brunson, holding the All-Star point guard to 29 points on 9-23 shooting. He guarded him full-court in stints and also grabbed 5 of the Celtics’ 12 offensive rebounds.

“No issues,” Holiday said of playing with a hamstring strain. “Felt pretty fresh. It was good to be back out there.”

The Celtics never shared exactly when and how Holiday’s injury occurred, but after Game 1, he spoke to reporters for the first time since the injury occurred.

“I just made a move and kind of pulled it or strained it, and from there, just relied on my teammates to get through the last series,” Holiday said.

Holiday said his hamstring held up fine in Game 1, but that he’ll be keeping an eye on how its responds to his return to play.

“We’ll see about tonight, and then tomorrow,” Holiday said. “Just, adrenaline kicked in and [I] had great energy.”

While Jrue Holiday returns, the Celtics lose two rotation players in the loss

Kristaps Porzingis (non-COVID illness) and Sam Hauser (ankle sprain) both left Monday’s game early. Porzingis left midway through the second quarter, while Hauser sprained his ankle at the end of the third quarter after fouling OG Anunoby on a three-point attempt. Hauser was walking on his own accord after the loss outside the Celtics locker room.

“KP is big for us,” Holiday said. “Obviously, he’s a versatile person who can either play in the paint or stretch the floor, protects the rim, protects the paint, blocks shots. We definitely miss him. We’ve always had this next-man-up mentality, and until we know what’s up with KP, we’ll just have to have the same mentality.”