CLEVELAND — After weeks of hype and buildup surrounding Kyrie Irving’s return to Cleveland on Tuesday, the night took an ugly, potentially disastrous turn for Boston early in the first quarter of Cleveland’s 102-99 win, when All-Star forward Gordon Hayward suffered a gruesome ankle injury.
With 6 minutes, 45 seconds left, Hayward jumped to catch an alley-oop from Irving. LeBron James came over to contest the play and the two appeared to collide a bit. Hayward landed hard and awkwardly, and his left ankle was visibly twisted. He was attended by medical staffs from both teams and later was diagnosed with a broken left ankle.
After Hayward suffered the injury, an official immediately sprinted toward Boston’s sideline and summoned help. The play happened near Cleveland’s bench and the Cavaliers covered their faces, recoiled, or left their seats altogether. There also was an audible gasp in this sellout crowd that had been so rowdy just moments earlier.
“I can’t unsee that,’’ one woman in the stands said.
As Boston’s medical staff tended to Hayward, the rest of the team gathered in one big group hug on the other side of the court. A compression cast was put on Hayward’s left leg and he was rolled off the court as he received a standing ovation from Cleveland’s fans.
Hayward was initially brought into the Cavaliers’ training room to have access to the medical equipment there. According to ESPN, former Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas and James went there to check on him.
Hayward was taken by ambulance to the airport and was on the team flight back to Boston. He will be transported to New England Baptist Hospital.
Players can sometimes return from broken ankles within a couple months, but given the apparent severity of Hayward’s injury, it is likely that other damage has been done.
“Knowing Gordon like I know him, he’ll be focused and he’ll be back,’’ said teammate Al Horford.
The Celtics signed Hayward to a four-year, $128 million contract in July. After the team traded for Irving, the two were expected to help Boston contend for the Eastern Conference title.
At the time of Hayward’s injury, Boston held a 12-9 lead. But the players looked understandably shaken when they returned to the court.
The Cavaliers seized control of the game with a 35-16 run, and even the Celtics’ bright moments were met with listless responses.
With 2:38 left in the second quarter, for example, center Aron Baynes went up and powerfully blocked Dwyane Wade at the rim. It was typically the type of play that would energize the Celtics’ bench, but the players hardly moved.
The Cavaliers took a 54-38 lead to the break, as Celtics rookie forward Jayson Tatum and guard Marcus Smart combined to go 0 for 14 from the field.
Cleveland led by as many as 18 points early in the third quarter before the Celtics mounted an improbable charge. Smart, who was held scoreless in the first half, consistently exploited his matchup against Kyle Korver in the third, when he made 5 of 6 shots and scored 12 points. His driving layup with four seconds left briefly gave Boston a 71-69 lead before Derrick Rose hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Irving hit back-to-back 3s early in the fourth, the second giving Boston an 82-80 lead. With 2:o4 left, Tatum scored inside to give the Celtics a 98-95 lead. The Cavaliers pulled within a point with a pair of Kevin Love foul shots, and then Jaylen Brown (25 points, 6 rebounds) missed an open 3 from the right corner.
James (29 points, 16 rebounds, 9 assists) finished a tough drive on Brown at the other end, and then forced a turnover with 1:04 left. After a timeout, James drew a double team and fired a pass to Kevin Love, who drilled a 3-pointer from the right corner with 46.3 seconds left.
After an Irving free throw cut the deficit to 102-99, the point guard attacked the basket but missed a tough layup. James missed a 3 at the other end, and the Celtics raced the other way. Brown’s pull-up 3 was off, and the ball ended up in Irving’s hands. He was guarded by James as he fired a 3 just before the buzzer, but the shot was well short.
Irving finished with 22 points and 10 assists.
Irving and James hugged after the final buzzer. Hayward’s injury swiftly switched the attention away from Irving’s highly anticipated return to Cleveland.
The All-Star point guard shocked the NBA world in July when he requested to be traded from a team that has reached the Finals for the past three years. And then the Cavaliers and Celtics — teams that tussled in the conference finals — shocked everyone by agreeing to a deal that would send Irving to Boston.
For the past few weeks Irving had consistently downplayed his return here, and he sounded a similar refrain at Boston’s shootaround at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday morning.
Irving was the first Celtics player to be introduced Tuesday night. It happened rather suddenly, almost before the fans could rev up and fire their catcalls. But the boos were still strong, and there were no noticeable cheers.
Before tipoff Irving was greeted at midcourt by Cavaliers backup forward Iman Shumpert, who had been one of his closest friends on the team. Then Irving stood near the top of the 3-point arc and crouched down before tipoff, and James walked over and quickly slapped him five. The two did not appear to exchange any words.
Irving was booed strongly whenever he touched the ball in the opening minutes. But Hayward’s injury certainly diluted some of the vitriol. Now the Celtics will wait for more news on their All-Star forward and hope for the best.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
