Charlotte Hornets star Gordon Hayward played one of the best games of his life Wednesday night.
The former Boston Celtics forward scored a career-high 44 points in his team's 102-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
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Hayward shot 15-of-25 from the floor, including a 4-of-9 mark on 3-point shots. He also hit 10 of his 12 attempts from the free throw line.
It was Hayward's first ever 40-point game -- his previous career high was 39 points. One of those 39-point performances came when he was playing for the Celtics in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last season.
Hayward has enjoyed an up-and-down first year in Charlotte after joining the Hornets over the offseason via a sign-and-trade with the Celtics. He has yet to score 20-plus points in back-to-back matchups, but he's averaging 18.7 points per game, which ranks second on Charlotte behind another former Celtic, Terry Rozier.