Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis Sends Message Following Bloody Game 2 Incident

The psychopathic mentality behind Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazulla’s (mostly) mild-mannered demeanor has rubbed off on Kristaps Porzingis, and it was on full display during Wednesday night’s Game 2 against the Orlando Magic.

Porzingis took the floor determined, fired up and most importantly, healthy. But the 7-footer walked off with five stitches, and bandage and a few streams of dried blood across his head in the aftermath of Boston’s 109-100 win over Orlando. Still, Porzingis was all smiles throughout it all and judging from his temperament, Porzingis had no problem taking a few battle scars if it meant the Celtics would make it out with a 2-0 series lead.

Orlando’s Goga Bitadze drilled Porzingis with a ferocious left elbow in the third quarter, leaving him on the ground in a bloody mess. Porzingis stepped out and into the player’s tunnel for a few seconds with a Joker-sized smile across his face before returning seconds later to take — and make — his free-throw attempts from Bitadze’s flagrant foul call. It was the moment of the night that sent TD Garden’s crowd to its feet.

“We’re gonna be us,” Porzingis told reporters, per CLNS Media. “We’re not gonna let anybody punk us and we expect teams to be doing this kind of stuff — to get in our heads, to try to provoke us, to try to get some reaction out of us, some technical or something. It’s an emotional game, obviously. We weren’t surprised but we’re not gonna just take it. We’re gonna hit them right back.”

Boston knew Orlando’s game plan, similar to Game 1, would be to try to defeat the defending champs in the physicality department. It was enough to draw blood from Porzingis’ head and get Al Horford and Jaylen Brown chirping during a brief midgame scuffle, but that was it. The Magic couldn’t ride the bully train long enough to keep up on the scoreboard and that’s the ultimate decider. The Celtics were the better team, even without Jayson Tatum, and even on a night where those in the locker room would admit they played far from their best.

“I love my WWE moments for sure,” Porzingis said. “It just happens in the game and you know me, I always love engaging with the crowd. And I already knew getting hit again, blood again, the crowd was gonna just go with it. So it was cool. It was fun.”

Porzingis provided Boston with a double-double performance, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Orlando’s lousy scheme sent Porzingis to the line seven times, allowing him to become the first player in Celtics history to amass 14 free-throw attempts, five offensive rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a playoff game.

It didn’t jump pump the crowd up, but those sharing the floor with Porzingis, too.

“When he came back and had to shoot his free throws, I was like, ‘If you make this free throw, you’re gonna be a legend,'” Derrick White said postgame, per NBC Sports Boston. “It’s good to see he’s OK, but I’m sure he loved it.”

Bitadze, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the rest of Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley’s goon squad couldn’t stop Porzingis or Boston’s high-powered offense. With no Tatum, Orlando squandered a winning lottery ticket opportunity to even up the series and send the Celtics a message of its own — one that holds weight and doesn’t just draw blood.

Mazzulla, meanwhile, didn’t shout at Porzingis to get up from the sidelines, but did offer his first golden playoff soundbite when asked about the incident.

“I like watching him bleed on the court. I think it’s important,” Mazzulla said, per NBC Sports Boston.

Mazzulla added: “I didn’t see anything. I just knew he had to shoot the free throws in order to come back in the game, and then he came back and helped us finish it off. So I appreciate his toughness. Like I said, a lot of the stuff he’s doing tonight showed up on the box score — obviously with 20 points and 10 rebounds — but he’s bringing a physical dimension for us on both ends of the floor. That’s really important.”

The Celtics can deliver a knock-out blow of their own in Game 3 on Friday night as Boston takes its 2-0 series lead over to Orlando.