The Celtics were down a pair of wings for their Saturday night matchup with the San Antonio Spurs at TD Garden.
After ruling out reserve Josh Minott (left ankle sprain) for the third consecutive game, Boston added veteran Sam Hauser to its injury report Saturday evening, making him a late scratch because of right hamstring tightness.
It was the first DNP of the season for Hauser, who started the previous four games. He enjoyed one of his best games of the season on Friday, scoring 19 points, shooting 5-for-7 from 3-point range and notching a key fourth-quarter steal in a 125-117 win over the Toronto Raptors.
“Everyone always sees the shooting Sam does, but I think he’s one of the better defenders that we have in his versatility defensively,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said pregame. “He did a great job (Friday) night on (RJ) Barrett. He started on (James) Harden the other night. … He’s just a well-rounded guy, and he can execute details really well on both ends of the floor.”
Without Hauser, Minott — who fell out of Mazzulla’s rotation before suffering his injury — and the rehabbing Jayson Tatum, the Celtics’ wing options against San Antonio were Jaylen Brown, Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman and two-way player Ron Harper Jr.
The Celtics and Spurs entered Saturday with the second-best records in the Eastern and Western Conference, respectively.
