Mazzulla lauds Porzingis' grit: 'I like watching him bleed on the court'

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was appreciative of Kristaps Porzingis' toughness in Wednesday's 109-100 Game 2 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Porzingis was bloodied by an elbow to the head from Goga Bitadze late in the third quarter. He remained in the game with a bandage to shoot his free throws after Bitadze was assessed a flagrant-1 foul.

"I like his overall approach. He has the innate ability to take things very seriously and at the same time have a great perspective," Mazzulla said postgame, according to WEEI's Justin Turpin. "You see how he controls the environment really well with how he handles the crowd and how he handles the physicality of it. He can maintain his poise ... and I think that helps us."

He added, "I like watching him bleed on the court. I think it's important."

Porzingis briefly left the contest to get five stitches on his forehead but returned to the court in the fourth quarter to the delight of the crowd.

"I love my WWE moments, for sure," Porzingis said with a smile. "It just happens in a game, and you know me, like I always love engaging with the crowd, and I already knew getting hit again, blood again, the crowd was gonna go with it."

Porzingis finished the game with 20 points, 10 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in 34 minutes.

"It was a tough, physical game - nothing easy on either side," he added. "Every rebound is a war, and it's probably going to be that way for the rest of the series."

The Celtics played Game 2 without star Jayson Tatum due to a bone bruise in his right wrist. Jaylen Brown stepped up in Tatum's absence with a game-high 36 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.

Mazzulla was proud of how his team managed to pull off the victory and take a 2-0 series lead.

"At the end of the day, you've got to be able to win games in different ways," Mazzulla said. "I thought our guys did a good job of making winning plays."

The series now moves to Orlando for Game 3 on Friday.