Sam Hauser on his three dunks vs. Raptors: Haven’t had that many since high school
The 6-foot-8 sharpshooter caught multiple dunks Friday night.
As soon as he heard the word “dunks,” Sam Hauser couldn’t help but chuckle.
The 6-foot-8 three-point sharpshooter dunked three times en route to a career-high 26 points during Boston’s 121-102 win over Toronto at TD Garden Friday night.
“I haven’t had that many dunks in a game since high school, so I’ll take it,” Hauser said with a grin.
Hauser started the game for the Celtics, whose wing depth took a hit after Jaylen Brown was ruled out with a right finger laceration. The injury isn’t expected to be serious, coach Joe Mazzulla said before the game.
Brown said he doesn’t expect to be out more than a week. He said he cut his finger picking up broken glass when a vase shattered while he was watering plants.
Hauser and the Celtics ran up a 30-point lead in the first half, and controlled the game with ease. Hauser’s dunks came during the fourth quarter and generated enthusiastic responses from the Celtics bench.
“I think you could see our reactions,” Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said. “We were caught off guard for sure. We were pretty pumped and excited for him, you know, because we had never really seen Sam do that before.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Hauser’s dunks were “a new thing.” According to Jay King of The Athletic, Hauser had never dunked in an NBA game before Friday.
Tatum joked after the game that Hauser is “probably going to get drug tested” when the Celtics return to practice.
The playoffs are looming with one regular-season game left. The Celtics have a week until the playoffs start to rest up and heal. With more at stake, Mazzulla’s rotations could end up getting tighter.
With his newfound dunking ability and an efficient shooting night [6-12 from 3-point range], Hauser is one step closer to ending the regular season on a high note.
“Anytime you can get more game experience, I think that’s a positive. When we have a full roster, I don’t know if I’ll play or not,” Hauser said. “But, I’m always ready and I know I’m going to be locked in on the timeouts and in huddles and make sure I know what’s going on so if my number is called, I’m ready to go. Obviously, the playoffs is a big step up from the regular season in terms of attention to detail and intensity. Just got to be ready for it.”
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