Kristaps Porzingis of the Celtics scores 16 points in his season debut against the Clippers

After a five-month break, Kristaps Porzingis made his season debut for the Boston Celtics on Monday evening against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The nine-year veteran was in the starting lineup and quickly tried to make an impact, scoring Boston’s first basket and hitting four 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the game. In the Celtics’ 126-94 win, he finished with 16 points, six rebounds and perhaps most importantly, two blocks in 23 minutes.

Porzingis’ return was originally reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The 2.17 meter tall center has had a long recovery after ankle surgery in June. The surgery repaired a torn retinaculum and a dislocated posterior tibialis tendon – a rare ankle injury suffered by Porzingis during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Porzingis missed Games 3 and 4 of the Finals due to the injury, but was later limited to Game 5. Boston won the NBA championship with a definitive 4-1 series victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

The big Latvian missed the first 17 games of the season while recovering from surgery. Boston is off to a 14-3 start in the NBA Championship, good for second place in the Eastern Conference, but will certainly get a boost from Porzingis’ return.