HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

Joe Ingles tied a career high with 27 points and Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Jazz spoiled the return of Gordon Hayward to Utah with an energetic 123-115 victory Friday over the visiting Boston Celtics in Salt Lake City.

Jazz fans booed every move of Hayward, who left Utah for Boston via free agency before the start of last season. Hayward then suffered a fractured ankle injury in the Celtics' season opener last year and did not play the remainder of the season.

In limited minutes, as he continues to work his way back from his injury, Hayward scored 13 points on 3-for-9 shooting from the field. He had just four points in the first half, earning a cheer from Jazz fans when he airballed a shot from five feet with 9:12 remaining in the second quarter.

Donovan Mitchell had 21 points, former Celtic Jae Crowder scored 20 points and Ricky Rubio added 17, as the Jazz won consecutive games after losing four in a row. Ingles added five rebounds and seven assists while going 10-for-14 from the field, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range.

Terry Rozier scored 22 points and Jayson Tatum added 21 for the Celtics, who have now lost three of the four games they have played on their current five-game road trip. Friday's defeat came a day after they needed overtime to defeat the Phoenix Suns.

The Celtics looked poised to pull off a huge rally just as they did in Phoenix. They cut a 20-point deficit in the third quarter to just four points on four different occasions in the fourth quarter. But the Jazz had enough energy to finish off the victory.

Burned for 48 points by Denver guard Jamal Murray on Tuesday, the Celtics were intent on not letting the same thing happen again. They held the dynamic Mitchell to just six shots until one minute remaining in the third quarter.

Mitchell asserted himself from there, taking three shots and scoring four points in the final 42 seconds of the third quarter, although he finished just 5-for-14 from the field and 1-for-6 from 3-point range.

--Field Level Media