Celtics beat Spurs but lose Hayward to broken left hand
Credit to Author: Agence France-Presse| Date: Sun, 10 Nov 2019 16:12:29 +0000
LOS ANGELES: Boston forward Gordon Hayward fractured his left hand on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) in the Celtics’ 135-115 victory at San Antonio, dimming the joy of improving to 7-1 on the NBA season.
Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Kemba Walker added 26, Jayson Tatum contributed 19 and Marcus Smart came off the bench for Hayward to add 16 to spark the Celtics’ triumph.
Hayward managed nine points and two rebounds in 15 minutes before the injury.
Hayward has been enjoying a stellar season with averages of 20.3 points, a team-high 7.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game. He’s also hitting 44 percent from three-point range.
The 29-year-old departed after suffering the injury with 94 seconds remaining in the second quarter in a collision with San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge, who was setting a pick on the play and was whistled for a foul.
Hayward was taken to the locker room and an X-ray confirmed the break.
Hayward spent his first seven NBA seasons with Utah before joining the Celtics, only to suffer severe leg and ankle injuries in the opening minutes of Boston’s 2017-18 season opener and miss the entire remainder of the campaign.
While Hayward has averaged 11.5 points a game this season, it wasn’t until the past few games when he appeared to have fully shaken off the impact of the 2017 injuries.
“This one doesn’t feel near as bad as it did two years ago,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “So, he’ll be back. Be off for a few weeks or a month or whatever it is.”
Stevens said Hayward and the team would have a firmer timeline once he had received further medical advice.
Thunder thwart Warriors
For the second time in two weeks the Oklahoma City Thunder proved too much for Golden State, thwarting the Warriors’ comeback bid to triumph 114-108.
The injury-hit Warriors, thrashed 120-92 by the Thunder on October 27, trailed by as many as 23 in the second quarter but had pulled level through three quarters and inched ahead by two points in the opening minutes of the fourth.
But the Thunder responded with a nine-point run that started with Chris Paul’s driving layup and ended with his pull-up jumper.
Paul scored eight points in the last 1:16 as the Thunder sealed the win.
Elsewhere, the Houston Rockets thumped the Bulls in Chicago 117-94. James Harden scored 42 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists and Russell Westbrook added 26 points for Houston, who won their third straight game.
AFP