Robert Williams made his much-anticipated return to the Boston Celtics in Saturday night's Game 3 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
The big man had been sidelined since March 27 due to a meniscus tear in his left knee. After undergoing surgery and progressing through rehab, Williams is optimistic about his health going forward.
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"I felt good," Williams said after the game. "Got the dub, so I'm feeling a lot better. No pain, no setbacks, so just thankful for that."
Williams didn't see his usual workload as Celtics head coach Ime Udoka eased him back into action. Time Lord logged 16 minutes in the 109-103 win, finishing off an alley-oop for his lone bucket and swatting away an Andre Drummond shot.
It wasn't your typical stat sheet-stuffing performance from Williams, but it still was an encouraging sight with Boston one win away from the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Williams was asked when he believed he was ready to return to action.
"Right after the surgery if you ask me," he answered.
"The first time I got on the court I was trying to dunk, but they wouldn't let me. But the second time I got out on the court, they let me dunk and like I said, I felt like I was ready. But had some boxes I needed to check off."
In the meantime, Al Horford and Daniel Theis have stepped up to fill the big man void. Williams spoke highly of how his teammates fared in his absence.
"I'm proud of them," Williams said. "I'm extremely proud of them. I feel like we've done a great job of bouncing back from adversity. We didn't do a great job of that at the beginning of the season but I'm proud of the guys and we're trying to add to that."
Williams and the Celtics will look to complete the series sweep Monday at 7 p.m. ET. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. with Pregame Live right here on NBC Sports Boston.
You can watch Williams' postgame press conference in its entirety below
Note: Games 4-6 of the Brooklyn Nets-Boston Celtics series will be aired on NBC Sports Boston and can also be streamed on NBCSportsBoston.com or with the MyTeams App, which you can download below.
