Jan. 22, 2026, 9:52 p.m. ET
Two players who have stepped up into bigger roles for the Boston Celtics this season to help the team defy early expectations have been Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard. The duo were critical to Boston’s 119-104 road win vs. the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday (Jan. 21) night, though not in the ways they often have throughout most of their careers.
Hauser put up one of the better overall games of his career, nailing his usual shots from beyond the arc while logging 17 points while going 5-of-17 from 3. But the VCU alum also had 6 rebounds and 3 assists while defending well, and Pritchard may have struggled from deep, but recorded 10 points, 5 boards, and 8 assists. These two resonated with Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla for their plus/minus totals despite having dealt with shooting slumps recently, who had praise for them and several other teammates after the win.
“There’s not a direct correlation to plus minus and playing well, but I do think they played well,” said the Celtics coach. “I just think those are always two guys that are not defined by shot making.”
“I thought Payton (Pritchard) did a good job in the first half of picking up the pace in that second unit, in that lineup of him, Baylor (Scheierman), maybe Jordan (Walsh), or Neemi (Queta), or Luka (Garza), one of them.”
“We kind of controlled the pace of the game offensively, and I thought Payton spearheaded that. And I thought (Derrick) White did that in the second half. It’s not just the stats with them. They’re always doing the intangibles, and they always give us a chance to win.”
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