Field Level Media
Nov 9, 2019
Jaylen Brown scored 30 points and Kemba Walker added 26 as the Boston Celtics overcame a first-half injury to Gordon Hayward to reach a season-high in points in beating the Spurs 135-115 Saturday night for a rare victory at San Antonio.
Jayson Tatum had 19 points, Marcus Smart had 16 and Robert Williams III chipped in 11 as the Celtics won their seventh straight game, and first at San Antonio since 2011. Boston had lost 14 of its last 15 to the Spurs overall.
DeMar DeRozan scored 22 and Patty Mills added 20 for the Spurs, who lost for the third time in four games. LaMarcus Aldridge was held to three points, taking just four shots from the field in 26 minutes.
Hayward fractured his left hand when he ran into Aldridge while guarding Dejounte Murray with 1:34 left before halftime. Aldridge was assessed an offensive foul, and Hayward quickly exited to the locker room.
The Celtics announced the diagnosis early in the third following an X-ray, and Hayward was ruled out for the remainder of the game. He will see a specialist Monday to determine if surgery is necessary, according to ESPN.
Despite the injury, Boston was up by 18 at the half and increased the margin to 20 on a pair of Smart free throws 12 seconds into the third. San Antonio battled back within 14 before the Celtics restored the 20-point margin, 88-68, on a Brown floater with 6:20 remaining.
The Spurs inched within 12, ultimately entering the fourth trailing 104-91. Boston went up by as much as 24 the rest of the way to cruise to victory.
The Spurs opened the game on a 7-0 run before the Celtics blew past them with a 19-3 stretch. Boston's lead in the first reached as high as 15 as the Celtics ended the quarter up 39-30, their highest-scoring opening period of the season.
San Antonio fell further behind in the second, trailing by as much as 19 when a Javonte Green layup put Boston up 70-51 with 25.3 seconds to go. Brown led all scorers with 20 points as the Celtics entered the half up 72-54.
--Field Level Media