Kristaps Porzingis reacts to his dust-up with Goga Bitadze that led to the Magic big man getting ejected.
Tensions boiled over late in Monday night's matchup between the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic.
Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis and Magic guard Jalen Suggs got in each other's faces and exchanged words in the fourth quarter, The situation escalated when Orlando big man Goga Bitadze grabbed Porzingis near the throat and both sides needed to be held back.
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After review, Porzingis and Suggs received technical fouls and Bitadze was ejected for getting physical.
Porzingis addressed the dust-up after the Celtics' 108-104 loss.
"Just competing, started talking a little bit," Porzingis said after the game. "We went face-to-face and we just kept on talking, and Bitadze came from the side and kind of shoved me. And of course, I reacted to that.
"Just a normal -- you know, some NBA action a little bit. Nothing serious, just competing. It's good that nobody got thrown out from our side and we just kept playing."
The fourth-quarter skirmish was far from the only physical moment in Monday's matchup. Orlando used its physicality to its advantage throughout the game to pull off the win despite missing multiple key contributors, including Franz Wagner, Mo Wagner and Paolo Banchero.
The Magic also limited the C's to an unusual 8-for-32 (25 percent) from 3-point range. Eight made 3-pointers marked Boston's lowest total of the season.
The Celtics (22-7) will look to bounce back when they welcome the Philadelphia 76ers (10-17) to TD Garden on Christmas Day.
