Hauser’s left ankle injury not serious
According to a league source, X-rays taken of Sam Hauser’s left ankle were negative and the Celtics forward avoided serious injury after being injured early in the third quarter of Sunday’s night’s win in Washington.
Hauser was ruled out ahead of Monday night’s 119-94 win over the Pistons at TD Garden with an ankle sprain.
The injury cut short a potentially historic night for the third-year player. He was 10 for 13 from the 3-point line when he fired up a shot from the right corner with 7:53 left in the third quarter. He was one 3-pointer away from tying Marcus Smart’s franchise record, and four away from tying the NBA record of 14 set by Warriors star Klay Thompson.
And with three Celtics starters sidelined, Hauser was positioned for a heavy workload down the stretch.
“He had such good rhythm,” forward Al Horford said. “It was pretty cool to see.”
But after missing that 3-pointer, Hauser took a few steps and stepped on the foot of a Wizards player sitting on Washington’s bench, turning his left ankle. He fell to the floor and eventually limped to the locker room before being ruled out.
Even though it did not turn into a record-breaking night for the former undrafted free agent, who finished with 30 points, the Celtics will surely be relieved that it did not turn into a damaging one as they prepare to begin their championship chase next month.
“I think he’s key to their success,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said. “When you can bring a guy off the bench that the backside of your defense has to absolutely help or hug when you’re running isos and pick and rolls and driving into the paint.
“I don’t know what the analytics would say about a guy like that, how many points he generates from a spacing component. I don’t know if they have a metric for that, but he’s that guy. He can get it off quickly, he’s got great size. We didn’t think much else, we just know he can shoot the ball and he’s tough.”
Kornet Kontest trending
Celtics center Luke Kornet said he doesn’t mind seeing other big men perform the “Kornet Kontest.”
The move has become a bit of a signature for the 7-foot-1 Kornet, who jumps with both hands in the air to contest 3-point shots from far away.
“It’s cool to see. I don’t know if pioneer of the game is something I would ever think I was going to be,” Kornet, a starter against the Pistons, said. “Honestly, I’m amazed that — I don’t know if I’m the first one to do it, but the first one to gain traction doing it. It’s just like a fun part of doing whatever it takes to win.”
Kornet said he appreciates seeing other players, such as San Antonio rookie Victor Wembanyama, imitate the move.
“In 10 years, it’ll be called ‘The Wemby,’ that’s how it’s going to work,” Kornet said. “A lot of times the innovators are the ones who don’t get the credit and
I’m fine with that. I should talk about that. I think he said he kind of has kind of a parallel-thinking type of thing, which by all means.
“So, yeah, when it’s known in France and has some French term that is much more eloquent, that’s fine by me.”
Kornet played 28 minutes in the win and while only scoring 4 points did post 10 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, and 2 steals.
Ins and outs of lineup
Kristaps Porzingis made his return to the lineup after the center missed five games with a hamstring strain. Forward Jaylen Brown, who missed Sunday’s game with a right ankle sprain, also returned.
Porzingis put up 20 points and pulled down 8 rebounds in 21 minutes. Brown led all scores with 31 points in 30 minutes, and grabbed 7 rebounds.
Forward Jayson Tatum (ankle), guard Jrue Holiday (shoulder), and Horford (toe) were out of action after playing in the win in Washington the night before.