Coming off the bench in Wednesday’s game, Boston Celtics guard Gordon Hayward came up big their 102-115 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Star Point Guard Kyrie Irving was inactive in Wednesday nights home game, but Hayward took the reigns and dropped 35 points, a season-high for the former Jazz starter. Hayward did so on 14-18 shooting and hitting four of seven attempted three-pointers. Hayward also added five assists in his 31 minutes played.
“We’re almost unstoppable,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said regarding Hayward’s scoring streak. “He’s been through a lot with the injury and everything. Just to see him out here is something we needed for this team.”
What a way to kick off the New Year pic.twitter.com/jy9TFqf5wb
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 3, 2019
Smart was, of course, referring to Hayward’s devastating ankle break from opening night last season that kept the All-Star caliber talent sidelined for the entire season. Despite Hayward coming into Boston last season as a perceived star talent, the young team still advanced in the post-season to the Eastern Conference Finals led by Jason Tatum who was ultimately thwarted by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This was only Hayward’s second game this season where he scored more than 20 points with the previous also coming against the T’ Wolves in a 30-9-8 stat line on the road a month ago.
No flow is safe when you drop a season-high 3️⃣5️⃣ ? pic.twitter.com/HHAnyksMP9
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 3, 2019
On the opposite end of the floor, T’ Wolves forward Andrew Wiggins dropped a comparable 31 points on 10-18 shooting with Karl Anthony-Towns adding 28 points of his own along with 12 rebounds and 7 assists.
The Timberwolves currently sit far out of playoff contention in the Western Conference while their Wednesday night opponent holds the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference behind the Philadelphia 76ers who also snagged a win on Wednesday over the Phoenix Suns 132-127.
