Hayward returns, Celtics slam Cavs, 110-88

Gordon Hayward returned from a 30-day absence last night without a restriction 3— Brad Stevens figured his lack of basketball activity would serve as its own regulator — and had no problem running his minutes total up to 26.

The Celtics seemed to float with the return of their playmaking forward, whose instant balance set the tone in last night’s 110-88 win over Cleveland. They are now 10-0 in the Garden this season.

From Kemba Walker’s 22-point, five-trey performance — three of them consecutively in a game-sealing 11-2 fourth quarter burst —  to a slashing 20-point run by Jaylen Brown, the Celtics had their offensive gears well-oiled last night.

Hayward shot 7-for-10 for his 14 points, to go along with five rebounds and four assists and overall the Celtics shot an unhindered 57.1 percent, including 15-for-27 (555.6 percent) from 3-point range.

The Celtics, with everyone from Hayward to Grant Williams, with his first NBA 3-pointer, getting involved, hit a peak lead of 29 points before Cleveland cut it to 83-66 with a 12-0 run over the last 2:30 of the third quarter.

Little did the Celtics seem to suspect that the Cavaliers had picked up momentum, with Jordan Clarkson’s 3-pointer cutting the C’s lead to 13 points early in the fourth.

But Tatum pulled up from 3-point range and Brown followed with a drive and a jump hook, completing a quick 7-0 run for a 92-73 lead with 7:27 left.

Cleveland countered with a 6-0 flurry, only for Walker to bury three straight 3-pointers in an 11-2 run for a night-ending 103-83 lead.

The Celtics took a 53-40 halftime lead on a Walker trey with 30 seconds left, with Brown’s 14-point first half the primary early force.

The Celtics also shot 53 percent over the first 24 minutes, and boosted that number by hitting four of their first five shots in the third. The 9-1 run, capped by a Tatum 3-pointer, was good for their first 20-point-plus lead of the night at 62-41.

Hayward, a playmaker to this point, triggered a 14-2 run with a drive, and helped it along with a pretty give-and-go play with Grant Williams, who then brought the house down with his first career NBA 3-pointer.

The Celtics hit a peak lead of 29 points (83-54) before the Cavaliers took a bite out of the cushion with a quarter-closing 12-0 run.

The Celtics got off to an 11-for-15 start, with Brown providing some early power with seven points over the first three minutes.

Theis’ up-top three then triggered a 15-5 run that also included a pair of bombs from Tatum.

The Celtics led, 24-11, by the end of the run, and 29-18 by the end of the quarter. Brown was off to a typically fast start with a nine-point, 4-for-6 quarter.

The Cavaliers were more up to the task in the second quarter, with Thompson doing his usual damage on the offensive glass. The Cavs twice cut the Celtics lead to seven points before Brown hit a left corner three for a 42-32 lead.

But Love cut the margin to seven points yet again with his first 3-pointer of the night. Walker answered, also from downtown, and after a three-point flurry from each side, and three missed free throws and a charge into Theis from Thompson, Walker buried a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left for a 13-point lead.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2LAQnGE