Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward will miss about four weeks due to a Grade 3 injury to his right ankle who suffered Monday’s Game 1 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Hayward, who scored 12 points in 34 minutes on 5-for-13 shots with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals, attempted to shoot Sixers star Joel Embiid with about 3½ minutes to go into the fourth quarter then his right foot was twisted and he fell to the floor in a heap.
Boston eventually had to take a take foul and then called a timeout with 3:08 left in the fourth to slowly lip Hayward, who never got off the ground, along the sideline and straight back to the locker room. of Boston.
This ankle is the opposite of when Hayward suffered a horrific leg and ankle injury in the opening minutes of his first game as a Celtics player in 2017, forcing him to miss the rest of that season.
This season, Hayward jumped back to the form he showed before the injury as a member of the Utah Jazz, averaging 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists, while shooting 50% from the field and 38% from 3-point range.
Hayward has a player option on his contract for next season.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.
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