It wasn’t Sam Hauser’s night – and that’s putting it lightly.
His first shot was halfway down before it swirled out. One miss ballooned to four, then four to eight, without a single make in the first half.
He finally hit his first 3-pointer early in the second half, then he missed his next nine shots to finish the night a mind-boggling 1 for 18 (1 for 13 from 3-point range).
Joe Mazzulla when told that Sam Hauser tied Jayson Tatum for the worst shooting night as a Celtic (or close to it):
“That’s like Brett Favre having the most interceptions and touchdowns.”
— Jack Simone (@JackSimoneNBA) April 6, 2024
He tied Jayson Tatum for the most misses with only one make in Celtics history (good company, at least).
“That’s like Brett Favre having the most interceptions and touchdowns,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
It was a shooter’s worst nightmare, but Hauser never let his struggles from the outside define his evening. He corralled seven rebounds and added three assists, helping the Celtics outlast the Kings, 101-100, Friday at TD Garden.
Props to Sam Hauser for not quitting on the play after being fouled and it not being called. He kept playing and poked the ball away from Murray, which wound up giving Tillman Sr. his chance to win the game for Boston. pic.twitter.com/HjpCJreD7g
— Marc D’Amico (@Marc_DAmico) April 6, 2024
In the final seconds, Hauser attacked the basket, didn’t complain about a questionable no-call and tipped the ball to Xavier Tillman Sr. to set up Tillman’s winning bucket. Hauser then doubled De’Aaron Fox at the perfect moment to force an off-balance shot with 5.7 remaining.
It was far from a perfect performance, but it said something about Hauser’s character that he remained poised despite his woes.
“You couldn’t tell by his effort defensively that he wasn’t shooting the ball well at all,” Mazzulla said. “He probably got pissed at himself that he missed, but I think that’s a huge component, to be able to not be affected by it to where you can’t execute other parts of your job.”
Sam Hauser is now 1/18 from the field, tying Jayson Tatum for the most misses with only one make in Celtics history, per @Stathead
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) April 6, 2024
Mazzulla credited him for continuing to shoot and his teammates for continuing to look for him.
Hauser’s passing was pristine, as attacked the basket and found Al Horford for two on one play and fed Luke Kornet for an alley-oop on another.
Fox was going to get his against anyone, but Hauser made life difficult for him when he switched onto him.
Payton Pritchard, who scored a team-high 21, said he almost looks at Hauser’s struggles as “a good thing” He called him the best catch-and-shoot shooter in the league.
Joe Mazzulla on Sam Hauser impacting the game despite not shooting well, something he earlier cited as a testament to why one shouldn’t label him as just a shooter:
“You couldn’t tell by his effort defensively that he wasn’t shooting the ball well.”
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) April 6, 2024
Hauser, who buried nine 3’s just four nights ago against the Hornets, can only go up after Friday’s showing.
“This is going to come back around,” Pritchard said. “He could go 10 for 10, like we’ve seen. We got a win with him missing as much as he did. If he shoots normally, this is probably a 20-point game. I think this is a good sign, because that means the next couple games he’s going to be on fire.”
