It was just too easy for Gordon Hayward.
With 39 points on 17-20 shooting from the field, along with eight assists and seven rebounds, Hayward put on a show in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse as the Boston Celtics took down the Cleveland Cavaliers in a nailbiter. None of his points were more important than a putback layup on a Kemba Walker three attempts that put the Celtics up five points (118-113) with 22.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Hayward scored 22 of his points in the first half, with Boston holding a firm nine-point lead over the Cavs. It was a career night for the former All-Star, who tied a career-high in points while setting a career-high in made field goals.
However, Cleveland — a tougher team to defeat than their 2-6 record shows — continued to put pressure on the Celtics and hang close throughout.
For Boston, forward Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker would finish with 43 points and 15 rebounds combined while rookie point guard Carsen Edwards came off the bench to score 13 points on 5-6 shooting.
Cleveland would be led by shooting guard Collin Sexton, who scored a team-high 21 points, and bigs Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson (36 combined points). The trio would attack the interior of Boston’s defense throughout the game, although the Celtics would outscore the Cavs 60-44 in the paint.
