Joe Mazzulla explains how Sam Hauser broke a Boston Celtics franchise record

Joe Mazzulla acknowledged the role Sam Hauser's Boston Celtics teammates played in helping him break a franchise record for most 3-pointers made in a three-game span (20) -- a record that, as Boston.com's Colin McCarthy explains, was just broken in January by Jayson Tatum -- after the Virginia product hit six against the Chicago Bulls in a 124-113 victory at the United Center.

“I think it’s just a comfort level of knowing that his teammates are looking for him,” Mazzulla prefaced before saying, “I think that’s really what it is … if you look at most of his threes, they’re really good passes, timely passes into a shot. So, I think it’s really just that comfort level that he knows he’s going to get open and he knows the guys are going to see him.

“The guys have done a better job of understanding how to use Sam as a weapon, whether its to get him open or to use him as a decoy for 2-on-1s. He has an innate ability to balance the floor with spacing but also create indecisions. So we don’t run a ton of plays for him, but the guys have really learned how to use him as a weapon.”

Sam Hauser has emerged as legitimate postseason rotation player for Boston Celtics

Hauser's emergence in the second unit has been somewhat overshadowed by the team's success overall. It's hard to stand out in the grand scheme, even after making so many 3-pointers (over 160 and counting), with Payton Pritchard "putting the world on notice," in Kendrick Perkins' words, and Xavier Tillman and Luke Kornet showing that a short-term injury to Kristaps Porzingis or Al Horford may be survivable.

Still, it cannot be lost on any Celtics fan that Hauser can step in and play minutes at the 3 in the postseason -- and possibly even contribute as a knock-down shooter who can be the catalyst for a momentum shift when the lights are brightest based on his contributions this season.