Gordon Hayward is back. The Boston Celtics forward made his first appearance at TD Garden as a member of the Boston Celtics and we can say it was a success. Yeah, he looked rusty and it wasn't pretty as he finished the game on 4-of-12 shooting. But he scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds, notched four steals and more importantly, didn't get injured. As the Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in convincing fashion by a score of 105-87 on Tuesday night, Hayward commented on his first game back from the leg injury: "It was so good to be out there. "@ROSGO21 chats with Gordon Hayward after the Celtics' opening night win! pic.twitter.com/wLNZWb0ENc — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 17, 2018 Like I said before, there were clear instances throughout the game where Hayward didn't look like the All-Star forward from the 2016-17 season with the Utah Jazz. Heck, he looked completely different as he did look tentative and he did look scared to engage in contact at times. However, this is a work in progress. This is a guy that's returning from the most gruesome injury ever seen in an NBA game and the fact that he returned without any sign of injury or further ailment is what's considered a success. The Celtics' stars, Hayward and Kyrie Irving, struggled throughout the night as they combined for 6-of-26 from the field, but Boston still made Philly look at least a couple of steps behind them the entire night. Hayward returned successfully and the Celtics proved that they're still the class of the East. I'd say that's a good night.<doc-sep>The night was never going to be about piling up points or collecting rebounds, though eventually, Gordon Hayward would in fact both score a few points and collect a few rebounds against the 76ers Tuesday at TD Garden. His numbers were easily eclipsed by the two young teammates who represent so much of the Celtics’ future now anyway, with Jayson Tatum’s 23 points and Jaylen Brown’s 12 (along with 16 off the bench from Marcus Morris) doing the bulk of the damage in the Celtics’ 105-87 season-opening laugher over Philadelphia . Advertisement Not because he scored 10 points, though that wasn’t bad after a scoreless first quarter. Not because he grabbed five rebounds, though that was pretty good against a physical Philly team. Not because he threaded a few nifty passes or nabbed a few nimble steals either, though it was nice to see him display the deft hands and high motor Celtics fans once dreamed of. The number that crowned Hayward a winner Tuesday was 24:37. That’s how many minutes the ninth-year pro logged. And that, knows anyone who still has the image of Hayward’s broken, sideways ankle seared in their worst sports memories, is miraculous. When basketball is ripped away from you the way it was for Hayward in last year’s season opener, when the cruel twist of fate visits you in the form of an ankle twisted so gruesomely television replays declined to show it, when an injury is so severe you have to be rolled off the court, your own cries of pain providing the devastating soundtrack, when a recovery is so arduous it requires two surgeries and countless hours of rehab, just getting back on the court is a win. Gordon Hayward won on Tuesday night. Advertisement He won by making it through the tunnel and into the welcoming arms of a home crowd that never did get to see him in uniform last year, he won by high-fiving and chest-bumping his teammates on the way onto a court that never got to be his after signing a four-year, $128 million contract in July of 2017, he won by watching the story of his own personal comeback on a big screen and not letting it ruin his official return performance. “It brought back a lot of memories, a lot of dark memories and dark times,” he said in the postgame locker room, the Celtics delighted to celebrate such a convincing win on a night when their best player, Kyrie Irving, had just 7 points on two field goals, against a team that figures to be crowding the same Eastern Conference path to the NBA Finals these Celtics hope to tread. “But to be honest it was cool to see some of the progression, they showed a little bit of everything of me, and then finally being back, so I thought that was really well done and it was cool watching it I guess.” He won by getting through that first quarter unscathed, if unscored, and he won by finally hitting his first TD Garden shot, a pull-up jumper from the right wing with 11:50 to go in the second quarter, a swish that would give the Celtics a 23-21 lead. “I think a couple of the off-the-dribble pull-ups that I had were stuff I’d done for a while and I’m used to doing that and that was good,” he said. “Definitely still a long ways to go for me to be where I want to be at, but a great first step and a great team victory.” Advertisement For yet another Boston area team confident in its potential for greatness. As the Celtics pushed their lead, the TD Garden crowd took the heady ride with them, dancing in their free green T-shirts, bopping to beat of their giveaway flashing bracelets, cheering this home team while boosting a couple of extra area squads, too. Welcome interruptions of support came for the other championship-seeking teams in town, a growing tide of “J-B-J!” chants as word spread through the crowd of Jackie Bradley Jr.’s grand slam in Houston, and a unilateral outburst of joy when Julian Edelman’s bearded, smiling face was flashed from courtside to the overhead scoreboard, the Patriots’ star even upping the ante when he lifted his sweatshirt to reveal a No. 11 Celtics jersey underneath. GHayward drives under the rim and beneath the defensive pressure of Simmons during the first quarter. Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff With what the Celtics were able to do last year, getting within one game of the NBA Finals, with the emergence of stars Tatum and Brown, with perennial Eastern Conference hurdle LeBron James on a free agent escape to LA, there’s so much reason for hope for this team, so much expectation for encore. The addition of Hayward, not to mention the additional one of Irving, who missed the playoffs when screws from a previous knee surgery became infected and the joint had to be cleaned out again, only ups the excitement. Advertisement But there’s plenty of time for that later. On this night, just being out there was more than enough for Hayward. A year ago, he barely made it off. “Yeah, it definitely crossed my mind, especially warming up and running out through the tunnel, just thought about not doing any lobs or back door plays this game,” he said. “Sure, it went through my mind. It was a major part of my life at this point in time. So I tried to just get that out of my head once I started playing. And once you’re out there on the court, some of that disappears. “The crowd was great. They were tremendous. It was everything that I was expecting when originally signed here. I had to wait a year for it, but they were amazing.” Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at tara.sullivan@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @Globe_Tara.<doc-sep>Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving was certain that his first shot of the 2018-19 season, a step-back 18-footer less than four minutes into the game against the Philadelphia 76ers, was money. He was mildly surprised when it rolled off, but no matter. Thirty-eight seconds after that, he launched a 3-pointer that he was convinced was going to drop too. It didn't. In the first half of the NBA's season opener at the TD Garden, Irving took eight shots -- and missed all of them. That has happened only one other time in his career: On Dec. 6, 2013, against the Atlanta Hawks, when he was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. "Yeah,'' Irving told ESPN, "that was the game when [former Cavs coach] Mike Brown took me out after I missed [my ninth shot] in the second half and didn't play me again. I remember it well.'' Celtics coach Brad Stevens did no such thing. He continued to play both Irving and his backcourt mate, Gordon Hayward, who was playing in his first game since a gruesome injury in Game 1 of the 2017-18 season derailed his entire season. Even as the two stars combined for 2-for-12 shooting from behind the 3-point line, the Celtics rolled to a 105-87 win over their division rival. Expectations were that Hayward would be rusty and perhaps even a little timid returning to the floor after such a traumatic injury. Less discussed was the long layoff that Irving experienced following a pair of knee surgeries that prematurely ended his season in March. "Everyone's been talking about Gordon being out for 12 months, but Kyrie has been out six," Stevens said. Irving said he felt great throughout the game and considered each shot he took a good one. "I think any shot I'm taking is a great shot -- unless it's double-contested or Embiid is meeting me at the rim," he said with a laugh. "At the same time, I've been so hyped up to play ... but you gotta just keep shooting." Hayward showed a hint of hesitation on the first possession of the game, when he caught the ball in the corner and had a brief open look at the basket. He sized up his defender, Ben Simmons, prepared to shoot and then thought better of it. Later in the quarter, he ventured in the paint for a reverse layup with Joel Embiid in pursuit and came up short. "My adrenaline was definitely bumping those first three or four minutes,'' Hayward said. Hayward admitted that he did think about the devastating injury from last season, which left him writhing in pain, his ankle grotesquely dislocated. "It definitely crossed my mind, especially warming up and running out through the tunnel,'' he said. "Just thought about maybe not doing any back door plays this game. "It [the injury] was a major part of my life at this point in time, so I just tried to get that out of my head as soon as I started playing. And once you're out there on the court, some of that disappears." A glimpse of the vintage Utah Jazz Hayward emerged early in the second quarter, when he hit back-to-back jumpers, the second over the outstretched arms of the 7-foot Embiid. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting in 25 minutes. He added five rebounds and played completely turnover-free. Irving checked out with seven points on 2-of-14 shooting and a team-high seven assists. "There's a difference between going 0-for-8 at the half and never shooting again and going 2-for-14,'' Irving said. "I'm perfectly fine with that. Brad was encouraging me. My teammates were encouraging me.'' Told it might take a little time for Hayward and Irving to find their footing together, he smiled. "It won't take as much time as you think," he said. "We've been playing great together for a couple of months now."<doc-sep>
BOSTON — For Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, it wasn’t his performance that mattered in the NBA season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday. For this game — Hayward’s first since sustaining a season-ending injury in the opener a year ago — it's his mere appearance in an NBA game that had significance. Just getting on the court in a Celtics uniform at TD Garden for an entire game meant something. “That was a big step for me mentally, a big confidence boost just to finish that first game (and) be back on the court,” Hayward said. “That was a big hurdle.” Yes, it was nice Hayward made shots (4 for 12), scored points (10), grabbed rebounds (five), collected steals (four) and contributed to Boston’s 105-87 victory against the Sixers. “Definitely still a long ways to go,” he said. “I’m not where I want to be yet, but it was a great first step.” Hayward just wanted to be on the court in a meaningful game. His performance — rusty applies — was secondary, at least for this one game. He went through nearly a year of mundane and painful rehab for this moment: to get introduced as a starter and play in an NBA game again — considering Hayward questioned whether he would have a career or ever be the same All-Star player he was. He described portions of the post-injury period and rehab as “dark memories and dark times.” He had flashbacks of the gruesome dislocated ankle injury suffered at Cleveland at various times before Tuesday's game. “I thought about not doing any lobs or backdoor plays this game,” Hayward said of the play that resulted in the injury. “It’s a major part of my life at this point in time, and I tried to just get that out of my head and start playing. Once you’re out there on the court, it’s something that disappears.” It was not only Hayward’s first game since that injury, it was his first game in front of the home crowd since he decided to play for Boston in the summer of 2017. Seems so long ago. “It was everything that I was expecting when I originally signed here,” Hayward said of the reception from Celtics fans. “I had to wait a year but it was amazing.” Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who also coached Hayward during Butler’s memorable Final Four runs, maintained a business-like approach to Hayward’s return. He pointed out it was an emotional night not only for Hayward, but for Kyrie Irving and Daniel Theis, who missed the playoffs last season. Stevens even downplayed Hayward’s return, telling reporters that he has been watching him play one-on-one and five-on-five for some time now. If he was moved, he didn’t show it. Maybe Stevens was simply trying to push past the injury and focus on the objective: making the Celtics a championship-caliber team. But it was a different game, at least for Hayward and he knew it. “There was an energy in the building that can’t be simulated,” Hayward said. “You can’t simulate the fans, the environment, the adrenaline that you get when you play.” Hayward wasn’t at his best, and he knows he won’t be right away. His progression will be monitored and dissected until he returns to an All-Star level, and the Celtics have the luxury of a deep and talented team. Hayward doesn’t have to get there tomorrow, next week or even next month. “Part of it is having patience and realizing it’s not all going to come at once,” Hayward said. “As long as I can do the things on the court that can help us get wins, I’ll be happy. “I’ve learned about patience this whole last year, and I’m trying to teach that to my daughters. So, maybe I can have a little bit, too.”