February 19, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors’ center Kristaps Porzingis (7) guards Boston Celtics’ center Nikola Vucevic (4) during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Image Golden State Warriors home fans are expected to see new big man Kristaps Porzingis again on Tuesday night when San Francisco opens a two-game homestand against the Chicago Bulls.
Porzingis, acquired from the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 5 for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, has played just twice in Golden State’s 12 games since the trade while dealing with Achilles tendon issues and ailments.
Porzingis made his Warriors debut on February 19 at home against one of his former teams, the Boston Celtics. He had 12 points and one rebound in 17 minutes in Golden State’s 121-110 loss.
Illness then limited his playing time to 23 minutes Saturday in Oklahoma City, where he had nine points, five rebounds and five assists in a 104-97 loss.
Despite the Warriors being rested on Sunday, Porzingis and fellow veteran Al Horford were ruled out for the final game of a three-game road trip in Utah on the front end of a straight set. The Warriors lost 119-116 to the Jazz.
Porzingis is expected to play against the Bulls on Tuesday and is eager to see his stats continue to grow.
“I still feel a little heavy. The rhythm of my shots is not good yet, but I will get better with each game,” Porzingis, 30, told reporters during the first and second leg of the trip. “I’m sure I’ll be healthy now. This is what I really feel: don’t sell anything, because I’ve definitely been in and out again. But this time, I thought, this is it.”
While the Warriors rested two veterans in Utah, they saw another player, Seth Curry, return after missing 40 games due to sciatica pain in his lower back and pelvis. He buried a pair of 3-pointers among his 13 points in 12 minutes.
With reinforcements on the way, he will likely sit out the second night of back-to-back games.
While the Warriors return from a road trip, the Bulls will look to continue a five-game West swing that began with a 105-103 win over the Phoenix Suns and Sunday’s 126-110 loss to the NBA’s worst team, the Sacramento Kings.
Collin Sexton was outstanding offensively in the trip to Chicago, scoring 30 points against the Suns and 28 against the Kings. Josh Gidey recorded his second triple-double in three games against Sacramento with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
Gidey led Chicago in scoring with 18 points in Golden State’s 123-91 loss to Chicago on December 7.
One of the highest-scoring teams in the league through January, having topped 120 points 23 times in 49 contests, the Bulls have struggled to make trade deadline acquisitions quickly since then, losing 13 of their last 15 contests but reaching 120 points only twice.
Coach Billy Donovan would like to see that change, especially against a Warriors team that travels for the second night in a row and will play three highly competitive games.
“I think the biggest problem is the fact that a lot of those guys are coming from situations where they’re not playing at all,” Donovan told reporters in Sacramento. “Just like (Guerschon Yabusele) didn’t play, Nick (Richards) didn’t play, Rob (Dillingham) didn’t play, so I think the pace was a little different.”
— Field level media
