Sam Hauser: 'I was scared' During Rare Defensive Play vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Hauser did his normal job, going 4-6 from three, but he also did something we rarely see from him on defense, and he wasn't fond of doing it, either

Apr 19, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) controls the ball while Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) defends in the first half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Before the Boston Celtics built a huge lead on the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their opening round series, there was a period of time at the start of the game when no one knew exactly how well things would go. A couple of plays could have gone differently and, in Sliding Doors fashion, maybe the Sixers join the Orlando Magic in a surprising first round upset. 

For example, let’s take Philadelphia’s fast break opportunity about 90 seconds into the game. Tyrese Maxey had just hit a three-pointer to answer one from Sam Hauser, and Jaylen Brown had just missed a layup after somewhat salvaging a broken play. 

Adem Bona corralled the rebound, threw an outlet pass to Paul George, and streaked up the floor. George gave it back to him in the middle of the floor, presumably expecting Bona, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound center, to make a pass to Kelly Oubre Jr. in the left corner. 

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— John Karalis (@JohnKaralisClip) April 20, 2026

Bona didn’t make that pass, though. Instead he went full-on “all gas, no brakes,” gathering at full speed with no indication that he could stop himself. 

Hauser must have understood what Bona was doing because he sold out on the drive and got into position at the dots in the lane. He stood there for a full second, preparing for the collision. At 6-foot-7, 215 pounds, Hauser is not a small man, but he’s smaller than Bona, and that second probably felt like an hour as he fully understood the consequences of his decision. 

“I was scared,” he joked after the Game 1 win. “He’s a big dude.” 

Taking a charge is no fun. A player willingly steps into the path of an out-of-control opponent knowing he’s going to get trucked only to hope the officials give him the benefit of the doubt. It can be a little bit of a risky proposition. 

“Just stepping in there and trying to make a play,” Hauser said. “It went in my favor."

Hauser hadn’t drawn a charge all season long. He only did it once last season. So don’t expect it to become some sort of defensive specialty for him. He’s done a good enough job defensively without risking his health to do it. He finished Game 1 with three contested shots, a deflection, a steal, and seven rebounds. 

Hauser did his normal job, hitting four of the six three-pointers he took, but his work on the defensive end has been noteworthy for the past couple of seasons. He takes pride in being a more complete basketball player than people give him credit for being, knowing his job main job for the Celtics comes on the other side of the ball. 

But as Hauser has become fond of saying, the standard is the standard, and he’s happy to live up to that as part of a great defense. 

“I think it’s just like the character of everybody in the building,” he said. “[Jaylen Brown] kind of led us at the start of the year with a lot of that, and the mindset each and every night to just be the harder playing team. If we were going to do that we were going to be in a lot of games, and obviously we won a lot of games this year, so I think it goes back to just the character we all have. With the outside people’s expectations, we weren’t gonna let that determine how we were gonna determine our day-to-day process.”