BOSTON — Kristaps Porzingis had blood on his head and a smile on his face as he strode from the tunnel to the free throw line with 55 seconds left in the third quarter.
Goga Bitadze had knocked the Celtics big man to the floor, earning the Orlando forward a flagrant foul and Porzingis a gash over his left eye.
But Porzingis looked defiant as he absorbed the scene surrounding him. A couple of stitches and a little blood were a small price to pay for the experience.
“I love my WWE moments for sure,” the 7-foot-4, Latvian big man said after Boston’s 109-100 win.
All he needed was a belt and maybe some shinier trunks.
It was his second time bleeding on the court this month after an elbow from Cody Martin turned his nose into a red faucet two weeks ago. He ate up the attention that night and knew what to expect with the sequel.
“I love engaging with the crowd,” he said. “I knew I got hit again, blood again. I knew the crowd was going to go with it. It was cool.”
Porzingis added a few memorable moments to an otherwise forgettable game as Boston extended its lead to 2-0 in the best-of-seven first-round series.
Jayson Tatum missed the game with a bone bruise on his wrist, but his absence barely registered.
Jaylen Brown was dominant with 36 points and 10 rebounds, while Porzingis finished five stitches short of a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five rows of black thread.
The Magic kept the game close but never really threatened in the fourth quarter.
Joe Mazzulla, who wishes fighting was legal in basketball, liked what he saw.
“I love watching him bleed on the court. I think it’s important,” he said. “He comes back in and does the job.”
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tried to play the heel as the Magic continued their so-far fruitless search for a path to success against Boston.
After knocking Tatum out of action with a flagrant foul in Game 1, Celtics fans booed him at introductions and every time he touched the ball throughout. He tried to embrace it, at one point waving his arms to egg them on.
Caldwell-Pope tripped Al Horford in the second quarter, nearly setting off a Royal Rumble. But his game didn’t back up his schtick. KCP shot 1-for-9 and had just 3 points.
This was Bitadze’s second time engaging Porzingis. He was ejected after grabbing the Celtic big by the throat in December.
While the officials checked the video to determine the flagrancy of this foul, the Celtics staff affixed a bandage to Porzingis’ head. He wanted to shoot his own free throws before getting sewn up. He made one of two free throws to extend Boston’s lead to 12.
Even with his new needlework still fresh, Porzingis returned to the court in the second half.
“How can I not come back out? My legs work. Of course I’m going to be out there,” he said and smiled again. “And I love these moments. Come back out. Hear the roar from the crowd.”
If the Magic wanted to fight, the Celtics were up for it. But if Boston wanted to play serious basketball, Orlando couldn’t counter.
“We’re not going to let anybody punk us,” Porzingis said. “We expect teams to try to do this. To try to get in our heads. To try to provoke us to get some reaction out of us. We’re not going to take it. We’re going to hit them right back.”
