The Boston Celtics are rolling through the first round of their playoff run. On Wednesday night, they took a 2-0 lead over the Orlando Magic with a 109-100 victory in Boston without Jayson Tatum.
Even though the Celtics are clearly the superior team, as evidenced by their convincing victory even without the two-way impact of Tatum, the Magic aren't going down without a fight. Orlando is one of the most physical teams in the NBA, and that has been on full display over the first two games.
During Game 2, Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis went down after taking an elbow from Orlando center Goga Bitadze. After a second on the ground, blood started pouring out of Porzingis' head.
Thankfully, the injury didn't end up as bad as it seemed initially. Porzingis went back to the locker room with a towel on his head, but he quickly returned after getting five stitches and checked back into the game. After the win, head coach Joe Mazzulla dropped an epic quote about the injury, via Daniel Donabedian of ClutchPoints.
Joe Mazzulla said he appreciates Kristaps Porzingis’ toughness and his balanced perspective:
“I like watching him bleed on the court.” pic.twitter.com/YPXeTfluRZ
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) April 24, 2025
“I like watching him bleed on the court,” Mazzulla said with a straight face. “I think it's important.”
Mazzulla has become known for dropping hilarious quotes in press conferences over the years, but this one has to be near the top of the list.
Regardless, Celtics fans will be happy to see Mazzulla in good spirits about the injury after the game, as that would seem to indicate that it isn't as serious as it initially looked. Porzingis is one of the key pieces to the championship hopes for the Celtics, so they need him firing on all cylinders.
After taking a 2-0 lead, Boston's focus will be on wrapping up this series quickly, perhaps as soon as Game 4 in Orlando. That would allow Tatum and Porzingis, along with Jaylen Brown, to have almost a week off to recover, which could really help propel the Celtics into the next few rounds as they look to defend their title.