The Boston Celtics headed to State Farm Arena looking to build on the momentum they created earlier in the week.
They did more than that.
Boston overwhelmed the Atlanta Hawks from the opening tip, turning what was expected to be a routine matchup into a one-sided statement. By halftime, the outcome was no longer in doubt. By the third quarter, it was clear the Celtics were playing a different game entirely.
The final score read 132–106, and Boston thoroughly controlled the night.
Jaylen Brown finished with 41 points.
Sam Hauser made history.
Sam Hauser Rewrites the Celtics Record Book
Hauser scored 30 points and knocked down 10 three-pointers, becoming the first player in franchise history with multiple games of 10 or more made threes.
He wasted no time.
Hauser opened the game 8-for-9 from beyond the arc, forcing Atlanta to stretch its coverage and abandon any hope of settling into rhythm. The Hawks tried switching. They tried chasing. Nothing worked. Hauser kept relocating, kept firing, and kept punishing every late closeout.
The single-game franchise record for made threes remains 11, set by Marcus Smart in 2020. Hauser had a chance to break it, but he cooled late and finished 10-for-21 from deep.
Still, the milestone mattered.
Saturday was the second time Hauser has reached double-digit threes in a game, reinforcing his place as one of the league’s most reliable perimeter shooters and explaining why head coach Joe Mazzulla continues to trust him in expanded roles.
Jaylen Brown Set the Tone Early
Before the avalanche, Brown established control in his hometown.
He scored 18 of Boston’s first 30 points, taking on the scoring burden while the rest of the lineup found its footing. Brown finished the first quarter with 18 points, two rebounds, and two assists.
The second quarter is when the game broke open.
Boston outscored Atlanta 52–20 over the opening nine-plus minutes of the period, shooting 19-for-25 from the field and 11-for-15 from three. Hauser was the spark, but the ball movement and spacing turned the run into something Atlanta never recovered from.
By halftime, the Celtics led 82–51.
Brown had 29 points.
Hauser had 21.
The game was functionally over.
Brown did not play in the fourth quarter. He finished with 41 points, six rebounds, and two assists in just 29 minutes.
Inside the Night Sam Hauser Couldn’t Miss
Hauser did not try to over-explain what was happening.
After knocking down 10 threes, he described the rhythm simply.
“Everything you put up, it feels like it’s gonna go in or it’s gonna feel really good, and that’s just kind of how it was tonight.”
That feel showed early and never left. Every relocation was on time. Every look was clean. And once Atlanta began scrambling to take him away, the game had already tilted.
Brown saw it unfolding in real time and could not help but think back to the last time Hauser flirted with Celtics history. He recalled a moment from two years earlier, when Hauser nearly broke the franchise record in Washington before injuring his ankle.
“He hurt his ankle. And I didn’t play that game, I was in the locker room,” Brown said. “I was like, ‘Bro, you gotta get back out there. I need you to get that record.’ He was like, ‘Oh, it’s gonna come back to me.’ …That was two years ago. This was his chance, it might not be another two years until he gets a chance…We was all rooting for him.”
The record itself did not fall.
But the moment did arrive.
And the Celtics knew it while it was happening.
Final Word for the Celtics
The Celtics improved to 26–15 and closed the first half of the season with their most complete performance to date.
Hauser made franchise history. Brown continued his MVP-caliber stretch. And Boston’s depth once again answered the question of whether it can handle nights without key rotation pieces.
Everything clicked.
The defense was connected. The offense flowed. And the result was decided long before the final buzzer.
Celtics Forward Makes Franchise History in Win Over Hawks
