BOSTON — Kristaps Porzingis had a smile on his face even as the blood flowed as he entered the Celtics locker room. He got a hard elbow to the head from the Magic’s Goga Bitadze late in the third quarter, forcing him to leave the game.
But this time, his smile wasn’t to pump up the Celtics crowd or anything just as he had done a few weeks ago. Back then, in a UFC moment, as Porzingis left the court, he appealed to the crowd that he was just fine. This time, he was also still fine. But it was more exacerbation that he got hit in the head again that required five stitches. There was also no consideration on sitting out the rest of the Game 2 victory over the Magic to go up 2-0 in the series.
“Honestly, how can I not come (back)?” Porzingis said. “Like, ‘Oh, I have five stitches, I can’t play anymore.’ My legs work, everything works. So of course I’m going to be out there. And you know me. I like these moments. Coming back out again, getting a little love from the crowd. It just happens within the game and this is not going to stop me. So I’m going to keep going.”
Porzingis was more effective in Game 2, though he wouldn’t call his performance perfect by any means. He finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, plus he was more assertive on some of his post-ups in the second half. Initially this series, the physicality bothered Porzingis as he struggled in the Game 1 win.
This time, Porzingis consistently got to the free throw line. So while he shot 5-for-14 from the floor, including 0-for-5 on 3-pointers, he was also 10-for-14 from the free throw line. He also contributed in other ways, pitching in two steals and a pair of early blocks that set the tone as he protected the rim.
The Celtics will need more of Porzingis at his best as the series and the playoffs continue. The C’s were without Jayson Tatum in Game 2 as he nurses a bone bruise in his right wrist. Tatum’s status going forward is unclear as he sat his first-ever playoff game since getting drafted by the Celtics. In the meantime, the rest of the Celtics will have to step up.
“We’re going to be us,” Porzingis said. “We’re not going to 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 maybe get some reaction out of us. Some technical maybe, something. It’s an emotional game, obviously, so we weren’t surprised but we’re just not going to take it. So we’re going to hit them right back.”
