BOSTON — Kristaps Porzingis had a smile on his face even as the blood flowed as he entered the Celtics locker room. He got a hard elbow to the head from the Magic’s Goga Bitadze late in the third quarter, forcing him to leave the game.
But this time, his smile wasn’t to pump up the Celtics crowd or anything just as he had done a few weeks ago. Back then, in a UFC moment, as Porzingis left the court, he appealed to the crowd that he was just fine. This time, he was also still fine.