WASHINGTON – The Celtics are one of the most prolific three-point shooting teams in NBA history. Despite their tendency to shoot away mercilessly, coach Joe Mazzulla insists they don’t chase three-pointers. They simply take the best shot they can on any given possession, and that often comes from beyond the arc.

But in the fourth quarter of Boston’s season-opening win against the Knicks on Tuesday, the team seemed to deviate from its usual approach of chasing history. Al Horfords 3-pointer with 8:54 left in the fourth quarter was the 29th of the game for the Celtics, tying the NBA single-game record.

The Celtics led by 33 points at the time and the backups would largely take over from there. But once the players became aware of the record, they started shooting in an attempt to break it, with fans egging them on. The problem was they just couldn’t make one.

They made thirteen three-pointers in the final eight minutes and missed them all. On their final possession, as the fans chanted “one more three,” Mazzulla signaled the team to commit a shot-clock violation, just as it almost always happens in the final minute when the score of a match is decided. Before facing the Wizards on Thursday, Mazzulla was asked what he thought of the approach in the eight minutes leading up to that moment.

“I think it went the way it should have gone,” he said. “We took the shots we needed to take, and we never shoot the ball at the end of the game, regardless of whether there’s a record or not. So I thought we played like we always play. We take the photos that were there. At the end of the game we had a two-on-one, we didn’t take it, the horn goes off and the game is over.”

Several Celtics acknowledged after the game that they had indeed gone after three-pointers in the hunt for the record. But Mazzulla said he didn’t think that was the case.

“I didn’t realize there was a record until the last minute and they were singing ‘one more three,’” he said. “I had no idea. So we had thirteen problems with it, but we didn’t get it, and the game is over.

Hauser was sidelined with back pain

Come on Sam Hauser missed Thursday’s 122-102 win at the Wizards due to lower back pain.

“It’s just something that flared up,” Hauser said. “I’ve been dealing with it on and off all summer and all preseason. I try to deal with it as best I can and move on from there.”

Hauser said he’s not sure what’s causing the pain and doesn’t know how long he’ll be sidelined. Asked whether he will undergo further tests, he said: “That is yet to be determined, I think.”

Hauser has been quite durable for the Celtics, appearing in 159 of 164 regular season games over the last two years. Hauser averaged 22 minutes per game last season and Mazzulla said the Celtics will be nimble to make up for his absence.

“We have the flexibility and depth to go different routes,” he said. “So it doesn’t necessarily have to be a grand piano. It could be a big one, it could be a guard. It just depends on what the matchups are in the second unit and what the subpatterns are, and it will change from game to game.

“We changed sub-patterns in the first quarter during the game (against the Knicks) and adjusted well. I’m confident that whoever we go to will be ready to play just because of the work they put in and the things they do. It should be everyone per committee, depending on what the game needs at the time.

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.