Getty Sam Hauser had a career night against the Washington Wizards.
Sam Hauser was one away from tying the Boston Celtics mark for 3-pointers in a game. He still had nearly a full half to play on Sunday, March 17, against the Washington Wizards.
After he let his last shot of the night fly midway through the third quarter of Boston’s 130-104 victory over the Wizards, Hauser went down with an ankle injury. He went to the locker room and never returned. Hauser had been in a shooting groove all night and had his teammates feeding him in order to help break both the franchise mark of 11 and the NBA record of 14. Hauser finished the game 10-for-13 from 3-point land, falling one short of the Boston record set by an unlikely source.
Sam Hauser Just Misses Tying the Celtics’ 3-Point Mark Set by Marcus Smart
Ask the casual Celtics fan who owns the Boston record for most 3-pointers in a game, and it’s not likely they’ll come up with the right answer. Larry Bird? No. Ray Allen? No. Jayson Tatum? No.
On January 18, 2020, Marcus Smart knocked down 11 of his 22 3-pointers in a 123-119 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
During Sunday’s Celtics game against the Wizards it seemed all but certain Smart’s mark would be broken. Hauser connected on seven 3-pointers in the first half and added three more quick ones in the third quarter.
Hauser, making a rare start for the short-handed Celtics, took his final shot of the night midway through the third quarter and rolled his ankle after letting the shot fly. He limped to the locker room and never returned. He went 10-for-13 from the floor (all 3-point attempts). His teammates were pushing for him to break the NBA mark of 14 set by Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson in October 2018 against the Chicago Bulls.
“It was pretty impressive to see. I was hoping he was going to go for 15.”
Al Horford talks about Sam Hauser’s red hot shooting night, saying the team was rooting for him to beat the NBA’s single game 3-point record
Center Al Horford said Hauser was in such a groove, his teammates kept looking to get him the ball.
“It was impressive,” said Horford. “Most impressive to me was that everything was within the flow of the offense. We just played our game, and guys were mindful he was there.
“I was hoping he was going to go for 15, you know break the Celtics record but also go for the league record. We knew he had seven at halftime, and we definitely wanted to make sure we kept him involved in the offense. When you got it going that like, you want to keep it going.”
Joe Mazzulla Enjoyed the Hauser Fireworks
Joe Mazzulla loved Sam Hauser’s performance tonight. He finished 10/13 from three before spraining his ankle.
“Loved his confidence, loved his aggressiveness, loved that guys looked for him, loved that he got his shots within the flow of our execution.”
(Via @CelticsCLNS)
Hauser is averaging 21.2 minutes off the bench for the Celtics this season. He was well ahead of that pace against the Wizards before he sprained his left ankle. He finished with a career-high 30 points and career-best 10-3-pointers in just 23 minutes.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla loved that Hauser showed plenty of confidence in his shot, and he loved that his teammates recognized he had the hot hand.
“Loved his confidence, loved his aggressiveness, loved how guys looked for him, and I love how he got his shots within the flow of our execution,” Mazzulla said. “That’s the weapon that he is. His ability to put two on the ball, his ability to create open shots for himself. It was fun to watch him shoot ’em. It was fun to watch these guys look for him.”
The Celtics are back in action against the Pistons on Monday, but Hauser is listed as out on the injury report.