Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward will miss about four weeks due to a Grade 3 sprained right ankle he sustained in Monday’s Game 1 win against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Hayward, who scored 12 points on a 5 for 13 shot with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals in 34 minutes, was looking to take out Sixers star Joel Embiid on the inside with about 3.5 minutes left in the fourth quarter. when his right foot twisted and fell to the ground in a heap.
Boston eventually had to commit a foul and then call a timeout with 3:08 remaining in the quarter to allow Hayward, who never got off the ground, to slowly limp down the sideline and head straight back to the Boston locker room.
This ankle is the opposite of when Hayward suffered a gruesome leg and ankle injury in the opening minutes of his first game as a member of the Celtics in 2017, forcing him to miss the rest of that season.
This season, Hayward has returned to the form he had shown prior to 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 points.
Hayward has a player option on his contract for next season.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.
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