Hayward leads Jazz past Knicks in return from injury
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.