Amari Williams thought he was gearing up for a G League game in Maine on Friday night. Instead, he found himself in the middle of one of the Boston Celtics’ most chaotic - and thrilling - wins of the season.
With starting center Neemias Queta sidelined due to illness, the Celtics made a late call-up for frontcourt depth. Williams, a rookie on a two-way contract, got the nod. And while he didn’t check in during regulation or most of the first overtime, his moment came when Boston needed him most.
With just 7.9 seconds left in the first OT and both Queta and backup Luka Garza having fouled out, head coach Joe Mazzulla turned to Williams. The rookie stepped in cold and immediately made an impact. He caught a deep inbounds pass from Sam Hauser and quickly dished it to Payton Pritchard, who knocked down a clutch three-pointer.
That play helped set the stage for fellow rookie Hugo Gonzalez to drain a corner three at the buzzer, forcing a second overtime. From there, Williams stayed on the floor - and delivered.
In double OT, he scored a go-ahead and-one layup - just the second made field goal of his NBA career - and later sealed the Celtics’ 130-126 win by blocking a shot from Nets guard Nolan Traore with 40.6 seconds left. Talk about seizing the moment.
“Funny enough, this game, I flew in two hours before from Maine,” Williams told reporters after the game. “I did the shootaround this morning, thought I was going to play there tonight, and then Neemi wasn’t feeling great, so I flew in today.
Just kind of being ready for whatever. You don’t really know until you get here if you’re going to suit up or not.”
That readiness paid off. In just five minutes of action, Williams not only made two critical plays on both ends of the floor but also helped stabilize the Celtics on the glass. After giving up 12 offensive boards between the fourth quarter and first OT, Boston limited Brooklyn to just one in the second overtime - a testament to Williams' presence in the paint.
“Amari comes in, he ain’t played much this year, and big rebounds, a big and-one, a blocked shot,” said Pritchard. “It takes a team, man. Everybody’s stepping up, and tonight, we needed it.”
Williams, the 46th overall pick in last summer’s draft out of Kentucky, has seen limited NBA minutes this season - just 52 total, mostly in garbage time. But he’s been putting in serious work with the Maine Celtics, averaging 17.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game since the G League season tipped off.
That development work clearly isn’t going unnoticed.
“For Amari to be able to sit through the entire game and be ready and execute some of the plays that we’ve gone over in practice, it’s a credit to him and the coaching staff,” Mazzulla said postgame. “Those are the guys that work with him, getting him ready to go… same thing for Hugo’s mindset. Those guys made big plays, and the player development staff gets those guys ready to go every day.”
In a season full of championship aspirations, it’s moments like this - when a rookie who wasn’t even supposed to be in the building steps in and delivers - that can set the tone for a team’s culture. Amari Williams didn’t just fill a roster spot Friday night. He earned his moment, and Boston walked away with a win because of it.