Kristaps Porzingis injury update: Celtics center embraces bloody head in Game 2 against Magic

BOSTON — “KP” chants broke out in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game between the Celtics and the Orlando Magic after Kristaps Porzingis took an elbow to the face from Magic center Goga Bitadze.

Bitadze appeared to immediately apologize to Porzingis, who lay on the floor with blood gushing out of his head. Luke Kornet motioned for the Celtics’ medical staff to check on Porzingis, and they immediately wrapped his head in a towel.

Still dripping blood, Porzingis grinned and quickly exited to the locker room, hyping up the Celtics fans on his way out.

“I love my WWE minutes,” he said postgame.

While Porzingis got bandaged up, referees assessed Bitadze’s foul as a flagrant penalty one.

Porzingis was only gone for a minute before he returned to the court to shoot the free throws with a giant band-aid on his forehead. He went 1-2 from the line.

After the free throws, Porzingis returned to the Celtics’ locker room, blood still gushing. He once again hyped up the fans and went back to get 5 stitches on his forehead.

Porzingis returned to the bench with 8 minutes left in the third quarter, still with a smile on his face and a band-aid on his head, and checked back into the game a minute later to rousing applause.

“How can I not come back?” he said after the game when asked about his decision to return to the floor. “‘Oh, I have 5 stitches, I can’t play anymore.’ My legs are working. Of course I’m going back to be out there… I like these moments.”

The Latvian center got four stitches on his nose a few weeks ago in a game against the Phoenix Suns, but Wednesday’s elbow to the face appears to have drawn unrelated blood. Both times, Porzingis used the moment to have a lively interaction with the TD Garden fans.

Enjoying basketball to the fullest comes naturally to Porzingis, he said postgame. And, Boston makes it especially easy.

“There’s no better place to do it. The biggest stage, and getting all of this love. This is what I dreamed of.”