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Celtics react to Sam Hauser’s near record-setting night
"I mean, I was hoping he was going to go for 15, break the Celtics record but also break the league record."
With three of the Celtics’ five starters sitting out Boston’s road matchup against the Wizards on Sunday, Joe Mazzulla handed Sam Hauser a starting spot in the lineup in search of some scoring punch.
The 26-year-old sharpshooter provided that spark and then some — sinking 10 of his 13 shots from 3-point range in just 23 minutes during Boston’s lopsided 130-104 win over Washington.
Hauser came just one 3-pointer away from matching Boston’s franchise record for most 3-pointers made in a single game (Marcus Smart, 11, on Jan. 18, 2020).
The Celtics forward was well on his way to rewriting the record books, but had to exit Sunday’s game with just 7:43 left in the third quarter due to an ankle sprain.
Hauser, who finished the game with a career-high 30 points and six rebounds, will need to undergo further testing on his ankle, according to Mazzulla.
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“I know he was doing like a just an X-ray after the game,” Mazzulla said, per CLNS Boston. “So we’ll find out, precautionary X-ray was what they said.”
Considering how effective Hauser was from 3-point range during his limited reps on Sunday, the undrafted forward had a viable chance of not only surpassing Smart’s Celtics record — but also the NBA record for made 3-pointers in a single game (Klay Thompson, 14, in 2018).
“Pretty impressive, pretty impressive,” forward Al Horford said of Hauser’s game, per CLNS Media. “The most impressive [thing] to me was that everything was within the flow of the offense. It wasn’t like he was hunting the shots or anything like that. We just played our game and guys were mindful when he was there to get him the ball, but it was just playing. So it was pretty impressive to see him.
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“I mean, I was hoping he was going to go for 15, break the Celtics record but also break the league record. He just had such good rhythm. So it was pretty cool to see.”
Hauser did set a new NBA record on Sunday, needing the fewest minutes in a game (23) to make 10 or more 3-pointers. He also set a Celtics record for 3s in a half with seven on the night.
Had Hauser not injured his ankle, Horford admitted that the Celtics would have made a concerted effort to get him the ball down the stretch.
“We knew he had seven at halftime, so we definitely wanted to make sure that we just kept him involved in the offense,” Horford added. “When you’ve got it going like that, when you’re that hot shooting, you want to keep it going. So JT (Jayson Tatum) and Jrue (Holiday) were very conscious of trying to find him.”
With the Celtics set to host the Pistons at TD Garden on Monday night, Hauser will likely sit out out the second leg of the back-to-back slate. And with Boston set to play five total games this week, the Celtics could opt to put Hauser on the shelf for an extended stretch — especially with the playoffs just a few weeks away.
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That 3-point shooting should come in handy as the Celtics begin their latest push for an 18th title.
“Yeah, it was great,” Mazzulla said of Hauser’s performance. “I loved his confidence, loved his aggressiveness, loved how guys look for him and I love how he got his shots within the flow of our execution.
“And that’s the weapon that he is, his ability to just put two on the ball, his ability to create open shots for himself and for other people, so it was fun to watch him shoot him. It was fun to watch his guys look for him.”
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