Celtics, Gordon Hayward come up short in return to Utah

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SALT LAKE CITY – As expected, Gordon Hayward was booed heavily when introduced with the Boston Celtics starters.

And once the game began, it was more of the same every time he touched the ball.

Even when he checked out of the game with over seven minutes to play in the first, the boo birds were still alive and well.

Not only did Hayward get roundly booed in his return to Salt Lake City for the first time since he left the franchise he spent his first seven seasons playing for, but the two things that really mattered – his play and the Celtics winning – didn’t go his way, either.

Hayward, who is still playing with a minutes restriction, finished with 13 points on 3-for-9 shooting in Boston’s 123-115 loss to the Jazz.

Upon entering the arena floor to get some shots up before the game, there was a small smattering of mixed jeers and cheers for Hayward.

One young fan held a sign that read, “Hayward wherever U Go I’ll Follow Love (heart sign), your #1 fan.”

But by the time Hayward finished his pre-game workout, the crowd around the arena had grown … and so did the boos.

Once the game tipped off, the booing didn’t have much of an effect on the Celtics as Boston raced out to a 10-2 lead.

A time-out by Utah with 9:59 to play in the first quarter was exactly what the Jazz needed as they responded with a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game 12-10.

When he returned to the game in the second quarter, the boos were once again in full effect.

But moments after he re-entered the game, he hit a long 2-pointer that quieted them momentarily.

The boos continued for Hayward until he checked out of the game at the 5:14 mark which – surprise, surprise – led to more boos for Hayward as he went to the bench.

Coming out of the half in which Utah led 58-51, the intensity of the boos lightened some which was in part because of the score.

After closing out the second quarter with a 12-3 run, the Jazz continued to surge ahead in the third quarter before Brad Stevens had seen enough and called a time-out with 8:55 to play in the quarter with his team trailing 73-57 following a 15-4 Jazz run.

During the spurt, Hayward was whistled for a pair of fouls which brought about the kind of applause you commonly see with a big shot made by the home team, in addition to “WE DON’T NEED YOU” chants.

And the player doing most of the damage for the Jazz was Joe Ingles who doubles as Hayward’s closest friend on the team.

He led all scorers with 27 points which included five three-pointers.

Hayward and Ingles have kept in contact since his departure.

And like any set of good friends, there have been plenty of back and forth wise-cracking and shared jokes between the two since they no longer played for the same team.

Even when Ingles is complimenting Hayward, he can’t help himself but get a slight dig in, the kind that you often hear when one friend is talking about another.

“He came in as a rookie, a very skinny, ugly little rookie but he built himself into an all-star,” Ingles said of Hayward. “For me, being a teammate those last few years, that’s all I knew. I didn’t see the start of it. But like I said, he’s moved on and we’re happy where our team’s at.”

Especially after Friday night, as the Jazz won their second straight following a four-game skid, while the Celtics have now dropped three of their last four games on this five-game road trip which ends on Sunday in Portland.

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