Kristaps Porziņģis injury update: Celtics star bloodied after elbow shot, returns with massive bandage to head

Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis was left bloodied during the third quarter of Game 2 against the Magic after receiving an elbow to the head on a rebound attempt by Orlando center Goga Bitadze.

Bitadze’s elbow appeared to make hard contact with Porzingis’ temple. Blood immediately began to run down the back of his head, and was taken off the court to get his wound treated. The training staff would clean the blood off of his face, sort of, and he would go back out there to shoot his free throws after the call was upgraded to a Flagrant 1. Porzingis had a rather large bandage crudely stuck to his forehead.

Foul on Porzingis lol. Probably fouled him before but he’s gotta be sick after getting hit like that pic.twitter.com/WxUOLvZC3o

— EJ’s Waterboy (@EJzWaterboy) April 24, 2025

The Celtics big man received an ovation from the Boston crowd on hand inside the TD Garden when he came back onto the floor to shoot his free throws. He split his pair of shots at the charity stripe.

Porzingis would enter the locker room following the third quarter to receive proper treatment to take the blood off his skin. He was also given a less comically-sized bandage to play the rest of the game. He re-entered the game with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter as the Celtics led the Magic 90-82.

Boston would go on to win the game 109-100, gaining a 2-0 series advantage over the Magic with the series set to be played in Orlando for the next two games. Porzingis finished the game as the Celtics second-leading scorer behind Jaylen Brown‘s 36 points. He scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on 5 of 14 shooting during the matchup. Derrick White also contributed 17 points toward the winning effort in Boston.

In Game 1, Porzingis totaled five points and six rebounds during 26 minutes on the court. On Wednesday, however, he played closer to his regular season averages. In his 10th season in the NBA, Porzingis played in just 42 games and averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists on a 48.3 field goal percentage.

Looking ahead, the Boston Celtics will look to take a controlling 3-0 lead when they travel to Orlando to continue their series with the Magic on Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN. The winner of this series will meet either the New York Knicks or Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals, whose series is currently tied 1-1.