The veteran forward caught fire from deep, pouring in a season-high 23 points and proving he’s back in form as Boston’s offense continues to hum.
For a quarter, Friday night had all the makings of a game that could spiral.
Indiana couldn’t miss, Boston couldn’t buy a stop, and a 15-point deficit formed before the Celtics ever found a rhythm.
Then Sam Hauser checked in, and everything changed.
Hauser didn’t just heat up in Boston’s 140-122 win over the Pacers, he completely tilted the court.
In just 17 minutes, Hauser went 7 for 8 from the field, knocking down 7 three-pointers on his way to a season-high 23 points.
Every shot felt heavier than the last - not just because they went in, but because of what they did to Indiana’s defense.
Each make stretched coverage wider, delayed rotations, and turned what had been a chaotic game into one Boston suddenly controlled.
This was the version of Hauser the Celtics have been waiting on.
After a slow November, the sharpshooter had already been trending up, entering Friday shooting just under 40% from three in December. And against Indiana, that climb turned into a full eruption.
His confidence never wavered, even early in the season when the shots weren’t falling, and nights like this are the payoff for that patience.
Hauser’s impact showed most clearly in the second quarter.
Boston exploded for 47 points in the frame, doubling up the Pacers 47-22 and flipping the game on its head. The Celtics didn’t force the issue or hunt mismatches, they simply played through the space Hauser created. His off-ball movement pulled defenders out of position, opening lanes for drives, kickouts, and quick-hitting reads that Indiana couldn’t keep up with.
By halftime, the game already felt over.
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What makes performances like this so valuable isn’t just the box score. It’s how little time Hauser needs to dominate a stretch. He doesn’t need plays called for him or extended run off the bench to make his presence felt. When he’s moving defenders that far off their spots, Boston’s offense stops feeling sequential and starts feeling inevitable.
“It’s great when he's making shots, but it's even better when we find him,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Hauser postgame. “I thought tonight, we did a great job hunting for him - pindowns in transition, getting him going off kick-outs. [Jaylen Brown] had a couple kick outs there, so it's always great to see him make them, but it's great for us to be able to find him in the rhythm and flow of our offense, because it just kind of unlocks on the stuff that we do.”
The Celtics finished the night shooting over 51% from three, with scoring coming from everywhere - Brown, Payton Pritchard, and Derrick White all had big nights. But Hauser was the accelerant.
He turned a shaky start into a runaway win without ever hijacking the flow of the game.
Friday was a reminder of Hauser’s real value. Not as a situational shooter who occasionally catches fire, but as a spacing weapon who can quietly bend a game until it breaks.
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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.