Just when the Jazz thought they were at full strength, reality set in.
On the same night when they welcomed Rudy Gobert back to the lineup, leading
scorer Gordon Hayward left for good with 8:42 left in the second quarter, a
victim of food poisoning.
Hayward battled the affects of the illness all day Sunday and received fluids in
the hours leading up until tip-off. He didn’t participate in the pre-game
warmups and was noticeably on the bench while his teammates loosened up.
Hayward did start, but after scoring a basket, was pulled from the game. He
returned briefly in the second quarter but was clearly fatigued and listless.
Hayward scored 40 points in Game 3 two nights earlier.
