Keys to the Game: Celtics 128, Pistons 112

The Boston Celtics were raining 3s during the final minute and a half of the third quarter Wednesday night. Their three triples over a span of just 85 seconds opened their lead up to 16 points heading into the final quarter, and they never looked back from there.

Sam Hauser got it all started with consecutive 3-pointers at the 1:26 mark and the 56-second mark of the frame. The first came off a kick-out pass from Derrick White, who found Hauser wide-open in the corner in front of Detroit’s bench. The second came off a kick-out from Luke Kornet to Hauser in the opposite corner, where the sharpshooter splashed one home to push Boston ahead by 16.

Jaylen Brown canned the third and final triple of the run, and he did so in dramatic fashion. Following a three-point play from Detroit, Brown took the ball up the left side of the court as the clock ticked down. He used a crossover, an in-and-out, and then a stepback move to free himself up for a 3-pointer from the left wing with just over two seconds remaining on the clock. He rose up over two defenders and drained his 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left on the clock to send the Celtics into the fourth on a high note with the crowd cheering loud behind them. 

Boston’s lead never dropped below 14 from that moment on as the C’s coasted to a 128-112 win.

We can’t look past Sam Hauser for our Key Player section. We just can’t. He was outstanding Wednesday night while setting a new career high in scoring.

Hauser came off of Boston’s bench to score a career-best 24 points that were fueled by the 3-point line. The second-year sharpshooter drained six of his 12 attempts from beyond the arc, and nine of his 15 shot attempts overall.

Hauser didn’t contribute much else beyond the scoring column – he grabbed just two rebounds – but he didn’t need to. That hot shooting was just what the doctor ordered for Boston.

"Not miss."

- Joe Mazzulla on what Sam Hauser has done to earn plays being drawn up for him