The Boston Celtics sorely missed Robert Williams, and while it was clear during the team’s down stretch without him, it was just as clear Wednesday night.
Williams returned to the floor Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets after missing seven consecutive games with left knee soreness. His return, along with the obvious performances of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, helped Boston to a 120-111 victory at TD Garden.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak as the Celtics went 3-4 without Williams.
“We for sure missed his presence. Glad he was back,” Jayson Tatum said of Williams during his postgame video conference. “I love playing with Rob. Rob, he’s probably my favorite person to play with the energy he brings, his presence, all the little things he does on the floor.”
That presence certainly was on display against the Hornets, who beat the Celtics by 21 points just three days ago.
And while Williams scored just four points (2-for-3 from the field) in 17 minutes off the bench, he made his impact elsewhere. The 23-year-old big man hauled in nine rebounds including five on the offensive end while blocking two shots and recording two steals.
“It just felt great being out there with my teammates. I missed a couple of games, kind of sad, felt like I could have helped them a lot but we did our job tonight,” Williams told Celtics reporter Amanda Pflugrad after the game. “We obviously been feeling a type of way losing to them a couple days ago just putting an emphasis on every one of these games. We got 10 games left regular season so every one is important.”
Perhaps with Williams back in the lineup the Celtics will be able to put together some momentum as they inch closer to the postseason. Boston is, after all, 8-2 in the 10 games Williams has started this season.
Boston returns to the floor Friday against the San Antonio Spurs.
