Hayward continues strong play as Celtics win second straight

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BOSTON -- Within minutes of entering Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, Gordon Hayward was on the scoreboard. 

A few minutes later, more points for Hayward and the Boston Celtics. 

While he wasn’t nearly as prolific in getting buckets against the Detroit Pistons as he was the night before against Philadelphia, Hayward was doing exactly what the Celtics need from him: making an impact. 

And he did it with a bit of twist on Wednesday, returning to the Celtics starting lineup for the first time in months as Boston closed out the pre All-Star break portion of their schedule with a 118-110 win. 

Hayward had 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting to go with eight assists and four rebounds, after having scored 26 points in Boston’s win at Philadelphia just 24 hours earlier. 

☘️ CELTICS 118, PISTONS 110

The opportunity to start came about because of a combination of injuries (Kyrie Irving, right knee strain) and illness (Terry Rozier) which robbed Boston of its two primary playmakers.

That left Celtics head coach Brad Stevens few options who to put in the starting lineup.

It’s fair to say Stevens made the right call in going with Hayward, whose presence with the first unit aided Jaylen Brown’s play off the bench as Boston’s primary scorer with the second unit. 

And with the win, Boston (37-21) goes into the break having won two in a row, and 12 of its last 15 games. 

Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from Boston’s 118-110 win over the Pistons.

STARS

Blake Griffin: There was one current All-Star on the floor in Blake Griffin, who dominated play pretty much every moment he was on the floor. He ended the night with a game-high 32 points, 20 of which came in the first half. 

Jayson Tatum: The last couple of games without Kyrie Irving have really allowed Tatum more opportunities to be the team’s go-to guy in pressure-packed situations. And to his credit, Tatum delivered when the Celtics needed on Wednesday before finishing with 19 points.

Al Horford: This was a nice way for the veteran big to close out the pre-All-Star break portion of the Celtics’ schedule. He would finish with his seventh double-double of the season, with 17 points and 14 rebounds along with eight assists on a night when it was Horford coming through with clutch baskets in the fourth as the Pistons were trying to mount a comeback.

STUDS 

Gordon Hayward: Making his first start since Dec. 21, Gordon Hayward picked up where he left off the previous night at Philadelphia. After dropping 26 points on the Sixers Tuesday night, Hayward had 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting to go with five rebounds and eight assists. 

Andre Drummond: One of the few dominant inside-the-paint bigs in the NBA, Drummond was indeed in double-double mode as he tallied 21 points and 17 rebounds. 

Jaylen Brown: He continues to be an effective performer for Boston off the bench both as a scorer and rebounder. For the game, Brown had 17 points and seven rebounds. 

Marcus Smart: There was a stretch in the third quarter when Marcus Smart hit three consecutive 3-pointers that took a relatively competitive game and transformed it into a blowout win for Boston. For the game, Smart had 16 points, five assists and three rebounds.

Reggie Jackson: The former Boston College star had a solid night scoring the ball for the Pistons before finishing with 18 points on 5-for-10 shooting to go with three assists and two rebounds.

DUDS

Officiating: No, this is no gripe about bad calls or anything like that. Even though the Celtics had control of the game pretty much most of the game, there were far too many stoppages of play to review calls which slowed down whatever flow there was to the game. 

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