Despite the unfortunate news that broke just before tipoff that Steph Curry would continue to be relegated to the sidelines due to his knee injury, Chase Center was still abuzz on Thursday night as Dub Nation eagerly awaited the first game since the All-Star break and the impending debut of Kristaps Porzingis in a Warriors jersey.

Porzingis was acquired at the trade deadline for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, but hadn't played any games before Thursday due to his continued recovery from Achilles tendinitis. Thus, the first chance that the Warriors got to see him don the #7 would be Thursday night, and though the Dubs couldn't get the job done, losing 121-110, Porzingis' performance was a sign of things to come.

Porzingis didn't play in the first quarter, but came off the bench in the second quarter, much to the glee of an excited Chase Center crowd.

With 2 and a half minutes remaining in the first half, the 7-foot-2 big man scored his first points in a very fitting way, handling an entry pass from his former teammate, Al Horford, to slam it down for a satisfying dunk.

Just a minute later, Porzingis also splashed his first three as a Warrior, knocking it down from the right wing as the shot clock was expiring. These two methods of scoring are what the Warriors are hoping to see more of out of Porzingis as he gets his legs back under him. The size and touch that the Latvian exhibits in the paint mesh well with his ability to shoot the ball from beyond the arc and provide a new dynamic for the Warriors' offense.

All in all, Porzingis ended up playing 17 minutes and recording 12 points on 5-9 shooting from the field and 2-5 shooting from downtown. The other three-pointer he made was a 31-foot laser, showing his true potential as a deep threat from anywhere on the court. Porzingis also had a stifling block on Nikola Vucevic, demonstrating his capability as a rim protector, given his towering height and solid instincts.

He was particularly effective in the fourth quarter, as he played much of the minutes during the Warriors' massive run. In just five minutes in the final frame, Porzingis scored 7 points and was a +12 as he operated beautifully as the big anchor for a smaller Warriors' lineup.

An abysmal 38-19 second quarter in favor of the Celtics quickly turned this game into a snooze fest, and the Celtics led by as many as 34 points midway through the third quarter.

However, the Warriors somehow pulled together an absurd run in the fourth quarter to get back within striking distance, rattling off a 15-0 run in just over two minutes to eventually get as close as 11 with just three minutes to play.

Alas, the Warriors didn't have enough gas left in the tank to complete the full comeback, largely due to timely threes and an overall dominance in the paint by the Celtics, but it was a valiant effort reminiscent of the crazy comebacks the Warriors have pulled off in recent games.

Ultimately, though the game didn't result in a favorable outcome, it was a good first game from the newest Warrior, and they'll hope to bottle up Porzingis' good minutes alongside the torrid run to take into their next matchup on Sunday afternoon against the Denver Nuggets.