WASHINGTON — Sam Hauser’s greatest start of his career couldn’t finish with a historic final line. The Celtics reserve hit 10-of-13 attempts from three in 22 minutes, playing well under three quarters, before an ankle sprain cost him the rest of his night in a 130-104 Celtics blowout. Boston had no update after the game other than that he’d receive precautionary X-Rays. Hauser did not speak after the game.
“That’s the weapon that (Hauser) is,” Joe Mazzulla said. “His ability to just put two on the ball. His ability to create open shots for himself and for other people. It was fun to watch him shoot them. It was fun to watch his guys look for him. It was more the guys looking for him. Sam has an innate ability to find ways into the action within the flow of our offense. I didn’t have to call many plays for him.”
A Wizards starting lineup featuring former Celtic Justin Champagnie, young wing Patrick Baldwin Jr. from the summer Chris Paul trade with Golden State along with veteran center Richaun Holmes, who Dallas sent to Washington for Daniel Gafford, played the Celtics to a 13-13 tie early. The benches separated the best and worst teams in the NBA almost immediately, Boston finishing the quarter on a 23-9 run behind second unit scoring even with Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White sitting. Oshae Brissett received his first Celtics spot start while Hauser grabbed the fifth spot over Payton Pritchard and took full advantage.
His first three marked the difference midway through the opening frame before the second unit entered. That included Svi Mykhailiuk, playing rare rotation minutes deep off of Boston’s bench, alongside the usual Pritchard and Luke Kornet combo. Jayson Tatum played the entire first quarter, something he’s done more often recently both with Brown out at Utah and in Washington, and in games where Brown sat to end the first as Tatum usually does (at Denver, vs. Phoenix). That gave him a chance to play off the ball, allowing Pritchard to drop off a pass to Al Horford inside and set Tatum up in the corner for three, and on-ball, swing a pair of passes to Pritchard for one of the Celtics’ franchise record 17 first half threes. Pritchard finished the night with 12 assists.
Boston led by 18 into the second, falling one point shy of the team’s most points in a quarter with 45 to open. Kornet and Xavier Tillman received a chance to play together while Hauser unleashed five threes in a row before dropping off a post entry to add 10 points to the Celtics’ lead, putting the game away early ahead by 28. The Celtics began running plays for him as he reached 7-of-9 shooting from three before halftime, Tatum finding him for one more late in the second before Horford hit another then found Kornet for a pass underneath with one second remaining that slipped through his hands and out-of-bounds. Boston led 81-53, falling one point shy of their season high (82 vs. GSW) for points in a half.
“We knew (Hauser) had seven,” Horford said. “We wanted to make sure we kept him involved in the offense. When you’re that hot shooting, you want to keep it going. J.T and Jrue (Holiday) were very conscious of trying to find him … we know (the record) … us shooters. We know those records. The Celtic one, I knew that because last year, Derrick came out hot and hit seven or eight … I just think that we got caught up in playing our game. What the defense gave, we took. Within everything, we just did it. Sam is the kind of guy that, he doesn’t care. He came in at halftime, he didn’t care. He just wants to play the right way. He wants to make the right play … as you could see, all the shots he took were good shots.”
Hauser opened the third quarter hitting back-to-back threes, reaching 10 to move into a tie with Jaylen Brown (10, 2021) for second in Celtics history and on a pace to challenge Klay Thompson’s NBA record (14). The Wizards threw a double team at him on the next possession to get him off the ball, leading to a Horford miss to his left, then the Celtics set him up in a crowded corner with Boston leading by 31 and he missed, stepping back into the Wizards bench area and turning his left ankle sideways on Tyus Jones’ foot as the Washington guard sat in street clothes. Hauser stumbled to the locker room and did not return with what the Celtics called a sprain.
Jaden Springer and the deeper portion of Boston’s bench entered soon after Tatum reached 30 points with a pull-up three and secured a 30-point lead that grew as large as 36. He charged into Eugene Omoruyi seconds into his stint, who popped up and scuffled with the Celtics guard for a few moments before the teams separated them and the referees delivered double technicals. The final fireworks, Kornet alley-oops aside, in the blowout in the the nation’s capital.
“Haven’t heard anything,” Mazzulla said on Hauser. “We’ll find out … loved his confidence, loved his aggressiveness. Loved how guys looked for him and loved how he got his shots within the flow of our execution.”
