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DAN SHAUGHNESSY

With this brutal injury, Celtics season changes in an instant

Gordon Hayward suffers fractured left ankle in first game with Celtics
Gordon Hayward suffers fractured left ankle in first game with Celtics

CLEVELAND — Gruesome. Grotesque. Painful to watch.

The Celtics’ $128 million free agent acquisition, Gordon Hayward, broke his left ankle in the sixth minute of his first game with the team Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Hayward crashed to the floor 5:15 into the season, in what turned out to be a 102-99 Celtics loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. While his teammates battled back from an 18-point deficit, Hayward was wheeled out of the arena, bound for the Celtics team charter, and New England Baptist Hospital in Boston. Hayward’s parents were with him on the flight.

“I really feel for him,’’ said Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who coached Hayward at Butler when the Bulldogs went to the NCAA Final Four in 2010.

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“I talked to him earlier and he’s handling it well,’’ said Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca. “It’s shocking for all of us. But the team settled down and came back.’’

The night was supposed to be all about Kyrie Irving’s return to Cleveland after the offseason point guard swap that sent popular Isaiah Thomas to the Cavaliers, but Hayward’s bad break will be the lasting takeaway for Celtics fans everywhere.

Midway through the first quarter, Hayward, guarded by former Celtic Jae Crowder, leaped to convert a long alley-oop from Irving. As the ball approached Hayward’s hands, LeBron James came from under the basket to help Crowder. Tangled in arms and legs, unable to catch the ball that was tipped by James, Hayward crash-landed in the wine-red paint under the basket near the Cavaliers bench. As he sat up, Hayward’s left foot was bent in unnatural manner.

In an instant, it was clear to everyone that Hayward was badly hurt. You didn’t have to be a doctor to see that the man had a broken leg. After the game, Stevens said Hayward had a fracture-ankle dislocation.

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Gordon Hayward suffers fractured left ankle in first game with Celtics
Gordon Hayward suffers fractured left ankle in first game with Celtics

Players looked away, fans looked away, as Hayward sat on the floor after the crash. He was clearly in pain, but remarkably composed considering what had just happened. His left foot was absurdly askew. Folks in the TNT studios were reluctant to show the replay. They were reluctant to even show Hayward sitting on the floor. It was that bad. It was vividly reminiscent of a “Monday Night Football” game in 1985 when Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann had his leg broken by Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. Paul George’s gruesome broken leg during the 2014 US Olympic tryouts also comes to mind.

Players from both the Celtics and Cavaliers put their hands to their heads and wandered around the floor. A team of doctors and trainers quickly surrounded Hayward under the basket. They placed his left leg in a black compression cast and put him on a stretcher. One by one, players came over to console the Celtics forward. Dwyane Wade. Tristan Thompson. LeBron James. At the other end of the floor, Celtics players locked arms and hung their heads in a huddle.

Cleveland fans stood and applauded politely, humanely, as Hayward was wheeled from the court.

Within minutes, there was a Tweet storm from other professional athletes around the nation. Houston Texan J.J. Watt wrote, “Can’t even put into words. Feel for you, man. Absolutely gut wrenching.” From DeAndre Jordan: “NEVER want to see any of the guys go through anything like that.’’ From Odell Beckham Jr.: “prayin for u my brother.’’ From Paul Pierce: “Prayers for GH.’’

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This was bad and unlucky for Hayward and the Celtics. A Jimmy Chitwood “Hoosiers” type, Hayward was a much-coveted free agent who delighted Boston by agreeing to a four-year contract in July. It was the beginning of a super Celtics summer which had Irving coming to Boston in the celebrated swap for Thomas.

The Celtics were going places and their season opener was much-anticipated.

Boston and Cleveland. So much hardwood history. They met in the conference finals last spring. Both loaded up during the summer. There was considerable emotion around the high-profile trade of Irving and Thomas. (Thomas said he would never again speak with Danny Ainge; Ainge on Tuesday told WEEI, “I don’t know what we owe him.’’)

Irving’s reception in Cleveland was supposed to be the big story of the night. Predictably, he was booed with gusto when he was introduced as the first Celtics starter.

Then came Hayward’s ugly spill and folks paid little attention to the game for the rest of the half. The Cavs ran over the shell-shocked Celtics and took a 54-38 lead at intermission. Rookie Jayson Tatum was 0 for 5 and had 2 points in the first half. It looked as if the Cavs would have their revenge and win their opener against Kyrie (who picked up a technical foul in the second half).

LeBron James — as usual — powered the Cavaliers, piling up 29 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists Tuesday.Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The Celtics rallied behind Irving (22 points, 10 assists), Jaylen Brown (25 points), and Tatum (12 in the second half), and led by 3 late in the game. But LeBron (29 points, 16 rebounds, 9 assists) was too much. As usual.

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But nobody in Boston cared too much about this game after the sixth minute of the first quarter. The story changed. The Celtics’ season changed. And the atmosphere on Causeway is going to be a lot different than we expected when the Celtics open at home Wednesday night against Milwaukee.


Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at dshaughnessy@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Dan_Shaughnessy.