Celtics' Sam Hauser made absurd NBA 3-point history with stats never done before
Boston Celtics sharpshooter Sam Hauser has long been defined by his elite spacing, but his performance against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night redefined the concept of a specialist. In a dominant 132-106 victory at State Farm Arena, Hauser posted a stat line so statistically improbable that it now stands alone in the league record books.
Hauser finished the night with 30 points, shooting 10-of-21 from the field. The absurdity lies in the shot selection: every single one of his 21 attempts came from beyond the arc. According to league data, Hauser is now the first player in NBA history to attempt at least 20 3-pointers in a game without taking a single two-point shot. He didn't attempt a layup, a mid-range jumper, or even a free throw—it was a display of perimeter commitment that even the most analytics-obsessed coaches could only dream of.
While Jaylen Brown led the scoring charge with a spectacular 41-point outing, Hauser’s relentless firing stole the narrative. The forward entered a "flow state" that saw him launching heat checks from nearly every angle. By the fourth quarter, the game within the game became Hauser’s pursuit of the Celtics’ franchise record for 3-pointers in a single game (11), currently held by Marcus Smart.
Hauser admitted postgame that the chase eventually took its toll physically. "At that point it was just like, 'Let's get 'em up, let's see what happens,' and then I got dead tired," Hauser told reporters. "The last couple, they were on line, they were just way short."
This wasn't Hauser's first brush with history. Fans will recall his March 2024 performance against the Wizards, where he hit 10 threes in just 23 minutes before an ankle injury cut his night short. This time, he stayed healthy enough to make history of a different kind. His singular focus on the perimeter provided the perfect spacing for Boston’s stars to operate, turning a standard regular-season win into a historic anomaly. In an era dominated by the 3-ball, Hauser just played the mathematically perfect game—even if he had to ignore the paint entirely to do it.
Hauser finished the night with 30 points, shooting 10-of-21 from the field. The absurdity lies in the shot selection: every single one of his 21 attempts came from beyond the arc. According to league data, Hauser is now the first player in NBA history to attempt at least 20 3-pointers in a game without taking a single two-point shot. He didn't attempt a layup, a mid-range jumper, or even a free throw—it was a display of perimeter commitment that even the most analytics-obsessed coaches could only dream of.
While Jaylen Brown led the scoring charge with a spectacular 41-point outing, Hauser’s relentless firing stole the narrative. The forward entered a "flow state" that saw him launching heat checks from nearly every angle. By the fourth quarter, the game within the game became Hauser’s pursuit of the Celtics’ franchise record for 3-pointers in a single game (11), currently held by Marcus Smart.
Hauser admitted postgame that the chase eventually took its toll physically. "At that point it was just like, 'Let's get 'em up, let's see what happens,' and then I got dead tired," Hauser told reporters. "The last couple, they were on line, they were just way short."
This wasn't Hauser's first brush with history. Fans will recall his March 2024 performance against the Wizards, where he hit 10 threes in just 23 minutes before an ankle injury cut his night short. This time, he stayed healthy enough to make history of a different kind. His singular focus on the perimeter provided the perfect spacing for Boston’s stars to operate, turning a standard regular-season win into a historic anomaly. In an era dominated by the 3-ball, Hauser just played the mathematically perfect game—even if he had to ignore the paint entirely to do it.
