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Tim BontempsESPN
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The Boston Celtics lost ahead of Gordon Hayward to a right ankle string in the fourth quarter of their 109-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
“Spreads singles,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said afterward. “I do not know the severity, but he is clearly in pain, and it looked like it was already having some swelling. That is my medical review.”
Sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews after the game that Hayward would receive an MRI of his ankle later Monday to determine the severity of the injury.
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.
Though a thin team as it is, the Celtics will struggle to replace Hayward if he has to miss a significant amount of time. While Boston played 11 players on Monday, five of them – Hayward, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart – played more than 30 minutes, and center Daniel Theis (25 minutes) was the only other to play more than 13 .
If Hayward were to miss the time, Smart would all but surely slip into place in the starting lineup.
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 year, Hayward bounced 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 the 3-point range .
Hayward has a player option on his contract for next season.
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