Kristaps Porzingis suffered a bloodied forehead during the Boston Celtics’ 109-100 win over the Orlando Magic in game two of the NBA first-round play-offs.
Centre Porzingis, who is 7ft 2in, was caught on the forehead by the stray elbow of Orlando’s Goga Bitadze with one minute remaining in the third quarter.
The 29-year-old Latvian fell to the court with blood pouring from the wound and had to be helped to his feet by a trainer.
He was taken off to receive medical treatment and returned in the fourth quarter with a large plaster on his head.
Porzingis scored 20 points and 10 rebounds for the second-seeded Celtics, who have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series in the Eastern Conference.
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown hit a game-high 36 points, as leading scorer Jayson Tatum was ruled out with a wrist injury.
Elsewhere, Jimmy Butler sustained a pelvis contusion in a hard fall during the Golden State Warriors’ 109-94 defeat by the Houston Rockets.
The six-time NBA All-Star, who was injured late in the first quarter and missed the rest of the game, will undergo an MRI scan on Thursday.
Houston’s victory levelled the Western Conference series at 1-1.
Donovan Mitchell scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 121-112 victory over the visiting Miami Heat.
Darius Garland added 21 points and nine assists as the Cavaliers established a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference series.