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Kristaps Porzingis bloody head, explained: Celtics star shakes off scary injury after nasty collision vs. Magic

Teddy Ricketson

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Kristaps Porzingis bloody head, explained: Celtics star shakes off scary injury after nasty collision vs. Magic image

The Celtics are without Jayson Tatum (wrist) for Game 2 of their first-round series against the Magic, but stars Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis picked up the slack, leading Boston to a 109-100 win and 2-0 series lead.

Despite the triumph, there was a scary moment in the third quarter where it looked like they might lose Porzingis after a nasty collision with Orlando's Goga Bitadze. 

Porzingis came away from the collision with a gnarly cut going down the center of his forehead. After he stayed down on the court, fans could see the blood start to run into his blonde hair. Porzingis was helped up and made his way back to the locker room to get cleaned up. On his way, the forward started laughing at the situation, which pumped up the hometown crowd. 

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Here is more on Porzingis' head injury. 

Kristaps Porzingis bloody head, explained

There are a few different ways that you can become a legend among your fan base. The most common is completely taking over a game or being directly responsible for the team's success with a big performance. The other is being faced with adversity and overcoming it in a memorable way. For Porzingis, it was the latter.

Ultimately, the cut on Porzingis' head after running into Bitadze's elbow looked worse than it was, and the Celtics forward laughed it off with blood streaming down his face and the crowd roaring. He went back to the locker room to get cleaned up by trainers while the referees reviewed the play. By the time he came out, they gave Bitadze a flagrant and Porzingis was able to go to the line. 

Unfortunately for Porzingis, his tough-guy moment was abruptly cut short. There's not a great bandage for forehead injuries that is malleable enough to stay attached with a player moving and sweating. The one that Boston trainers initially chose for Porzingis stood out for the wrong reasons.

Still, even with the goofy bandage on his forehead, the crowd got behind him and cheered him as he attempted his free throws. Porzingis hit both shots from the charity stripe before disappearing back into the locker room to have his wound attended to even more. The broadcast said that the Celtics forward needed five stitches for his forehead. 

Kristaps Porzingis stats in Game 2 vs. Magic

Here are Porzingis' stats for Game 2 against the Magic. 

  • 34 minutes
  • 20 points
  • 10 rebounds
  • 0 assists
  • 2 steals
  • 2 blocks
  • 5-14 FG
  • 0-5 3FG
  • 10-14 FT

Teddy Ricketson

Teddy Ricketson is a Digital Content Producer at The Sporting News. He joined the team in 2024 after spending the last three years writing for Vox Media as part of its DK Nation/Network team. Teddy does his best to support the South Carolina Gamecocks and Carolina Panthers, but tends to have more fun cheering on the Atlanta Braves. In his free time, he loves spending time with his wife, Brooke, and their two dogs, Bo and Hootie.