Friday night, Sam Hauser started for the second-straight game as the Celtics took the floor without Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart.
The second-year forward responded with a game and career-high 26 points, drilling 10/16 shots, including 6/12 threes. Hauser also threw down multiple dunks in Boston's 121-102 win over the Raptors.
After the game, the former Virginia Cavalier said he probably didn't even do that in his collegiate days and that one likely has to go back to when he was in high school to find the last time it happened.
Jayson Tatum, who registered 21 points and four assists as the Celtics swept their two-game series against Toronto, expressed the following about Hauser stepping up for the defending Eastern Conference champions.
"Sam is a big part of our team and what we're trying to accomplish. And just a testament to how hard he's worked," adding "that he's gonna go out there and produce and that we trust him...I'm happy for him. Sam just works really, really hard."
As for Hauser, he emphasized how well the team played in Boston's blowout win, limiting the Raptors to 43 percent shooting from the field, including 9/31 (29 percent) from beyond the arc.
Conversely, the hosts didn't miss a two-point field-goal attempt in the first half and missed only seven for the game.
"It's good to have one of those games where kind of everything's clicking. There's still some things we can clean up with the turnovers, but when everything's clicking like that and everyone's making shots, obviously, things are fun. And you're getting stops on defense, that's always fun too. People are diving on the floor or offensive rebounding, that stuff's fun, and winning like that is really fun. So, hopefully, we can carry that over to Sunday and finish out the year on a high note."
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