Sam Hauser found out about 90 minutes before the tip of the Boston-Detroit game on Monday that he’d be getting his first career NBA start.
“It kind of took me by surprise. I thought they would maybe plug someone else in to start. They called my number, and I was ready for it. It was my first start ever in the NBA, and it was a cool moment,” said Hauser, who scored 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, 5-of-9 from three, in 31 minutes in the 111-99 Celtics win.
Hauser, a 2021 UVA basketball alum, had been seeing his numbers dwindle of late. He’d been averaging just 9.7 minutes per game over a 10-game stretch dating back to the C’s Jan. 11 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Hauser was pressed into duty Monday night because Boston guard Jaylen Brown had to miss the game with an illness.
The Celtics are also missing starting guard Marcus Smart, who hasn’t played since Jan. 21 because of a sprained right ankle.
Malcolm Brogdon, a 2016 UVA alum, had 16 points and four assists in 26 minutes off the bench for Boston in the win.
Brogdon is in his first season in Boston, which is using him as a sixth man. Brogs is averaging 14.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Celtics, with a 47.7%/45.0%/88.3% shooting split.
Hauser, a second-round draft pick of Boston in 2021, is in his second season with the team, and in 2022-2023 is averaging 5.7 points in 14.6 minutes per game, with a 43.6%/39.7%/66.7% shooting split.
The Celtics have a 38-16 record, right now the best in the NBA.
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Chris Graham
