Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis elbowed in forehead, gushes blood, returns to finish win over Magic

BOSTON (AP) — With blood pouring from his forehead as he ran off the court, and a towel pressed against the wound as he headed to the locker room, Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis couldn't help but smile.

A little blood wasn't going to stop him.

“How can I not come back? ‘Oh, I have five stitches, I can’t play anymore?’ My legs are working. Of course I’m going back to be out there,” Porzingis said. “I like these moments.”

Porzingis briefly left Boston's Game 2 playoff win over Orlando on Wednesday night after taking an elbow from Goga Bitadze of the Magic in the third quarter. He returned to shoot a pair of free throws, got stitches to close the wound, and then was on the court in the closing minutes.

The 7-foot-2 Porzingis finished Boston's 109-100 victory with 20 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes.

“He came out and competed," said Jaylen Brown, who finished with 36 points and 10 rebounds. "And that’s what we want to see. Even through injury, even through blood everywhere. I think that fires KP up.”

Porzingis and Bitadze both went up for a rebound and Bitadze caught Porzingis in head on the way to ground with 55 seconds remaining in the third quarter. A video review by officials determined Bitadze had wound up and thrust his elbow into Porzingis, and he was assessed a flagrant foul.

During the review, Porzingis emerged from the locker room to a loud ovation, with dried blood streaking down the back of his head and a bandage on the center of his forehead. He connected on one of two free throws before leaving the floor again.

The Celtics led 81-71 entering the fourth quarter. Porzingis returned to the bench area midway through the period — no longer covered in blood — and he came back into the game with 7:15 left to even louder cheers from the TD Garden crowd.

He didn't score again, but had two rebounds down the stretch.

Earlier this month, Porzingis briefly left the Celtics' victory over the Phoenix Suns after getting cut on the bridge of his nose.

“I love my WWE moments,” Porzingis said. “We’re not going to get let anybody punk us."

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With his head bandaged after an injury, Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) laughs after defeating the Orlando Magic in game 2 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

With his head bandaged after an injury, Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) is congratulated by fans after defeating the Orlando Magic in game 2 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) during the first half in game 2 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) grabs a rebound against Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) during the second half in game 2 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A 2-year-old girl arrived Wednesday in Caracas to reunite with her mother after she was separated from her parents when they were deported from the U.S. in what Venezuela denounced as a kidnapping.

Maikelys Espinoza arrived at an airport outside the capital, Caracas, along with more than 220 deported migrants. Footage aired by state television showed Venezuela's first lady Cilia Flores carrying Maikelys at the airport. Later, Flores was shown handing the girl over to her mother, who had been waiting for her arrival at the presidential palace along with President Nicolás Maduro.

“Here is everyone’s beloved little girl. She is the daughter and granddaughter of all of us,” Maduro said.

The U.S. government had claimed the family separation last month was justified because the girl’s parents allegedly have ties to the Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua gang, which U.S. President Donald Trump designated a terrorist organization earlier this year.

The girl’s mother was deported to Venezuela on April 25. Meanwhile, U.S. authorities sent her father to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in March under Trump’s invocation of an 18th-century wartime law to deport hundreds of immigrants.

For years, the government of Maduro had mostly refused the entry of immigrants deported from the U.S. But since Trump took office this year, hundreds of Venezuelan migrants, including some 180 who spent up to 16 days at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been deported to their home country.

The Trump administration has said the Venezuelans sent to Guantanamo and El Salvador are members of the Tren de Aragua, but has offered little evidence to back up the allegation.

Maduro on Wednesday thanked Trump and his envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, for allowing Maikelys to reunite with her mother in a “profoundly humane” act. Grenell met with Maduro in Caracas shortly after Trump took office.

“There have been and will be differences, but it is possible, with God's blessing, to move forward and resolve many issues,” Maduro said, alluding to the deep divisions between his and Trump's governments. “I hope and aspire that very soon we can also rescue Maikelys’ father and the 253 Venezuelans who are in El Salvador.”

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

A screen shows an image of Maikelys Espinoza, a 2-year-old in US custody whose parents were deported separately, after a pro-government May Day rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Pro-government supporters hold up signs with the image of Maikelys Espinoza, a 2-year-old in US custody whose parents were deported separately, at a rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)