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Hayward leads Jazz past Knicks in return from injury

Jennifer Stewart / Reuters

The Utah Jazz are glad to have Gordon Hayward back.

The small forward shined in his season debut Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. He led the team to a 114-109 win over the New York Knicks, tallying a team-high 28 points to go along with five rebounds.

The 26-year-old showed little rust after spending the past month recovering from a finger fracture, and provided a huge boost to Utah's offense.

Hayward also made history in the process, as he hit a three to surpass Bryon Russell for the second-most threes made by a Jazz player (541).

Utah trailed early on, as sophomore Kristaps Porzingis poured in 14 first-quarter points for the home team. The Jazz rallied back, tallying nine straight points to begin the fourth quarter and take a two-point lead - one they wouldn't relinquish.

In a scary moment, point guard George Hill was forced out of the contest late in the third after appearing to jam a finger on his right hand.

He suffered the knock while stripping the ball from Derrick Rose, and grimaced in pain before heading to the bench. Fortunately for the Jazz - who'd rather not deal with yet another injury so early in the campaign - Hill returned in the fourth to help put away the Knicks.

He finished with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, nine assists, and a pair of steals, as his new club improved to 4-3 on the season. Meanwhile, Carmelo Anthony and Porzingis each scored 28 points for the Knicks, who fell to 2-4.

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