Boston Celtics

WARNING ... this is one of the most disgusting sports injuries you'll ever see.

NBA star Gordon Hayward suffered a brutal lower leg injury just 5 minutes into his Boston Celtics debut against the Cleveland Cavs Tuesday night ... and it's absolutely cringeworthy.

Hayward went up for an alley-oop from new teammate Kyrie Irving when he landed hard on the court. He was immediately tended to by medical personnel and was taken away on a stretcher.

Jahlil Okafor is opening about his infamous '15 streetfight in front of a Boston nightclub -- saying he lost his cool hours after the 76ers blew their chance to finally win a game that season.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Okafor went on a violent bender on Nov. 25, 2015 -- socking at least 2 men in the face outside Storyville Boston nightclub hours after Philadelphia (0-15 at the time) lost to the Celtics.

Okafor is now explaining the situation to SB Nation saying, "We were almost about to win that game against the Celtics and it ended up getting away from us in the fourth quarter," Okafor said.

"I remember just being upset because I thought we were about to get our first win. And I just decided I'm going to go out that night. I don't remember a lot of it, because I was really intoxicated."

"And me being drunk, I wasn't in my right state of mind. I remember being taunted -- just random stuff I would hear all the time on the court. I just reacted differently."

Okafor says he was so embarrassed after the fight, he didn't leave his house for 2 weeks.

NBA players Marcus and Markieff Morris have just been found not guilty of beating a man to a bloody pulp after a 2015 youth basketball game.

Both Marcus (who plays for the Boston Celtics) and Markieff (who plays for the Washington Wizards) appeared in an Arizona courtroom on Tuesday where they were acquitted on aggravated assault charges.

As we previously reported, the brothers were accused of joining 3 others guys in a brutal beatdown of Erik Hood, a former acquaintance ... after Hood allegedly sent inappropriate texts to the mother of the twins.

Here's Paul Piece and Ray Allen proving not even a homewrecker named LeBron James can stand in the way of true brotherhood, with the two ex-Celtics officially squashing the beef after a pretty nasty breakup.

Allen had been on the outs with his old C's running mates (Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo) ever since he bolted Boston in 2012 to sign with the hated rival Miami Heat ... and LeBron.

The feud had gotten pretty nasty (and pretty public) -- but when the two came face-to-face at a celebrity game in China, it was all love.

"Time to get the band back together," Pierce said in a post on Instagram ... "No matter what happen we all formed a special bond that can never b broken #onceacelticalwaysaceltic."

He tagged Rondo and KG in the post and added the hashtag, "#burythehatchet."

Pierce, KG, Rondo and some other teammates opened up about the feud back in May -- with Pierce saying he was hurt that Allen left the squad without ever calling him to talk about it.

The Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas trade might be on hold right now ... but it's GOING DOWN eventually -- so says Austin Rivers.

Austin hadn't heard of I.T.'s injury holding up the deal ... but told TMZ Sports NBA fans can chill out about it cause the Cavs and Celtics are handlin' business.

"They're just doing their job -- doing their due diligence. I'm sure the deal will go through." Rivers said.

Basically, they'll find a way to make it work -- cause it's a win-win for both squads.

NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas says he no beef with Isaiah Thomas ... and no this isn't a 'Good Will Hunting' moment, he's talking about the NEW Isaiah, the one who tore it up for the Celtics last year.

Our camera guy spotted the original IT at LAX and broke some bad news to him, the news being that when "Isaiah Thomas" is Googled, the new model comes up first.

(Point of Information: No, Isiah Thomas and Isaiah Thomas are not related).

So the question ... is the vintage version a little salty about the handle jack?

Answer? NO. Thomas says he loves his namesake (it's true, the younger version was named after the older) and told our guy he's thrilled the name is living on.

Don't pack for Beantown just yet, Markelle Fultz ... if Mark Wahlberg has his way you'll NEVER be a Celtic, cause he tells TMZ Sports the C's should swap the #1 pick for his boy, Jimmy Butler.

Or another big star ...

We got Wahlberg out in NYC and asked him about the Celtics' envious dilemma, whether to use the #1 pick in this year's draft on a college stud (probably Fultz) or trade for an elite NBA player.

Mark -- a huge Celtics fan -- made his position clear, he wants to slang the pick, and wouldn't mind getting his good friend -- and Bulls star -- Jimmy Butler back in return.

Your move, Danny Ainge ... second place for next five years could be yours.

Brian Scalabrine says there's absolutely NO WAY in hell the Celtics can beat the Cavs and advance to the NBA Finals ... that is, unless there's a zombie apocalypse!!

The NBA champ and current Cs analyst says even though Boston took Game 3 on the road, and only trails the series 2-1, they got no shot at dethroning King James and Co. with Isaiah Thomas sidelined with an injury.

"There's not one sliver of hope that they can actually pull this series off," ... UNLESS "we have a zombie apocalypse and LeBron gets bitten in the neck."

Could Lonzo Ball be a Boston Celtic??

It's possible ... because Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck tells TMZ Sports the team is definitely considering drafting the former UCLA stud with the #1 overall pick.

Grousbeck was leaving the NBA Draft lottery in NYC Thursday night when he told us he's fired up about securing the top spot -- "It seems like Celtic pride is going crazy right now!"

Wyc says the team hasn't made its mind up on who will be #1 -- but says they're looking about the 6 "really good guys" in the draft ... and bad news, LaVar -- that list includes Lonzo.

Of couse, LaVar has made it crystal clear he wants his son in the Purple and Gold ... but Wyc says Boston ain't exactly a bad place to end up either!

"We're a place that people would wanna come and play," Grousbeck says ... "We're doing well and room for improvement."

A Washington Wizards fan socked a Boston Celtics fan in the face at the TD Garden during Game 7 -- dropping the dude into the seats ... while nearby fans cheered them on.

Unclear what started the fight, but the man in the John Wall jersey reached back and clocked the dude -- while the victim was still clutching his cell phone.

Another Celtics fan tried to jump in and help out his fallen comrade ... but the damage was already done.

We spoke with cops who say no one was arrested at TD Garden on Monday.

Meantime, we got a photo of the aftermath ... it was bloody.

Here's Boston Celtics superstar Isaiah Thomas arriving in D.C. on Wednesday for his playoff game with the Washington Wizards ... but we couldn't help noticing the way he walked off the team bus.

Some people in our office thought it looked like a limp ... like he was favoring his left leg.

Others are saying he just walks with swag -- and maybe he was just tight from the bus ride.

NBA superstar Isaiah Thomas says "the pain I am feeling right now is impossible to put into words" following his sister's fatal car crash.

Thomas' 22-year-old sister, Chyna, died Saturday in Tacoma, WA after her car violently slammed into a metal pole. Thomas -- who played in Game 1 and 2 of the Celtics' playoff series against the Bulls -- traveled home as the family prepares for the funeral and he's clearly grief-stricken.

He said, "I never could have imagined a day where my little sister, Chyna, wouldn't be here. She and my family are everything to me ... This has been without question the hardest week of my life."

Thomas went on to say he's overwhelmed by the love and support he's received from friends, fans, the City of Boston, the Celtics org and NBA community throughout.

What bad blood??

Glen "Big Baby" Davis says he'd love to have Ray Allen on board for the 2008 Boston Celtics reunion ... but understands why some of the other guys think differently.

We spoke with Davis outside Ace of Diamonds in L.A. Monday night about Rajon Rondo's plan to reunite the '08 title team this summer ... minus 1/3 of the famous Big 3.

Nothing pisses off Kelly Olynyk more than a poorly run fantasy basketball league -- which is why the Boston Celtics player tore our TMZ photog a new one right in the middle of the street.

Long story short ... our guy is in a league that starts the fantasy playoffs THIS WEEK. Olynyk feels that's wayyyyy too early. He's right.

When our guy tried to explain why (in case NBA playoff-bound teams sit their stars at the end of the regular season) ... Kelly called B.S. and called for the commish to be FIRED.

It's been an up-and-down season for the Boston Celtics ... but that's not keeping superfan Mark Wahlberg from staying positive ... saying the Celtics will finish with one of the best records in the East.

Boston was predicted to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference ... but currently sit just a couple games above .500 at 13-11.

So, when we saw Mark in NYC promoting his new movie "Patriots Day," we asked about the teams less-than-stellar start.

Mark ain't worried though ... saying it's WAYYY too early to freak out, predicting that the Celts will finish with either the 3rd or 4th seed in the East.

Boston Celtics player Gerald Green was so stoked about kicking off the NBA season Wednesday night -- he braided a CLOVER into his hair ... and it was awesome.

By the way, it worked -- the Celtics beat the Nets and Green dropped 9 points!