The Boston Celtics’ scoring depth has propelled them to one of the best records in the NBA this season. The San Antonio Spurs will have to contend with that depth when they visit Boston in each team’s final game before the All-Star Weekend.
Boston’s leading scorers are Jayson Tatum (26.9 points per game), Jaylen Brown (22.9), and Kristaps Porzingis (19.1). Recently, Sam Hauser has also been making significant contributions, especially from beyond the arc. Hauser, typically coming off the bench, scored 15 points—all on 3-pointers—during Monday’s 103-85 victory over the Miami Heat. After hitting 34.1 percent of his 3-point attempts in his first 16 games this season, Hauser has since improved to 44.5 percent over the next 29 games. He will enter Wednesday’s game averaging 7.6 points in 19.9 minutes per game, shooting 40.5 percent from downtown.
Despite battling back issues early in the season, Hauser has found his stride. Boston has won six of its last seven games overall but has a modest 16-10 record at home, losing three of its last four at TD Garden.
San Antonio brings a formidable 1-2 scoring punch with Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox. Wembanyama is averaging a team-high 24.4 points per game, while Fox, acquired from the Sacramento Kings in a three-team trade on February 3, is averaging 21.3 points in his four games with the Spurs. Wembanyama scored 31 points, and Fox added 30 in Monday’s 131-121 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Fox mentioned that his on-court chemistry with Wembanyama is improving with each game.
This will be the first of two regular-season matchups between the Spurs and Celtics. The teams will meet again in San Antonio on March 29. After Wednesday’s game, both teams will be off until February 20.
