Few have been hotter from beyond the 3-point line than Sam Hauser was Sunday night against the Washington Wizards.
The Boston Celtics sharpshooter made seven 3-pointers in the first half. the dominant victory 130-104. That tied Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Kemba Walker for the most 3s by a Celtic in a half.
Hauser wasn’t done there. He made three quick shots from deep in the third quarter to become the third player in Celtics history to record at least 10 3s in a game, joining Brown (10) and franchise record holder Marcus Smart (11). There’s no doubt he would have broken Smart’s record if he hadn’t suffered a sprained left ankle on his 13th 3-point attempt of the night.
Unfortunately, the injury forced Hauser to miss the rest of the game. He finished with a career-high 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting from 3 in just under 23 minutes.
C guard Payton Pritchard gave Hauser a huge compliment after the win.
“I tell people all the time that in my opinion, Sam is one of the best shooters in the league,” Pritchard told our Abby Chin. “So for us, it’s like, every time it’s open, we have to find it because it’s almost automatic.”
Abby Chin catches up with Payton Pritchard in an exclusive one-on-one interview following the Celtics’ win over the Wizards.
Pritchard played a key role in Boston’s victory, scoring 14 points and providing 13 assists coming off the bench.
Hauser’s historic performance also earned him praise from veteran Al Horford.
“Pretty impressive, pretty impressive,” Horford said. “The most impressive thing to me was that everything was in the rhythm of the offense. It wasn’t like he was looking for shots or anything like that. We just played our game and guys were paying attention when he was there to hand him the ball, but it was just a play. So it was pretty impressive to see him.
“I mean, I was hoping he was going to go for 15, break the Celtics record but also the league record. He just had such good pace. So that was pretty cool to see.”
Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson set the NBA single-game record with 14 3-pointers in 2018. The Milwaukee Bucks set the record for most 3s in a game with 29 in 2020 .
Horford and the C’s did their part to give Hauser a chance to break Smart and Thompson’s records.
“We knew he had seven at halftime, so we really wanted to make sure we kept him involved in the offense,” Horford added. “When it’s going like that, when you’re shooting hot, you want to keep it going. So JT (Jayson Tatum) and Jrue (Holiday) were very conscious of trying to find him.”
Al Horford praises Sam Hauser’s “impressive” performance in the team’s win over the Wizards. Hauser finished with 10 three-pointers, four short of the NBA record, before leaving the game with an injury.
Hauser’s performance will be unforgettable, but for now, the number one concern is his health. C’s head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters after the game that Hauser underwent precautionary X-rays. The severity of his injury is unclear at this time, but there’s a good chance he’ll miss Monday night’s game at TD Garden against the lowly Detroit Pistons.
Monday’s C’s-Pistons game will feature a all-female broadcast team on NBC Sports Boston to celebrate Women’s Empowerment Month. The alert is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. with Celtics pregame live.
