The Celtics’ unlikely reserve sparks a wild turnaround in loss to the Pacers

Boston Celtics reserve center Neemias Queta hadn’t played any significant minutes this season.

That changed dramatically when Boston lost 135-132 in overtime to the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Queta sat on the bench for the first three quarters before Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla brought him into the game with 8:54 left in regulation and Boston trailing by 21 points. It looked like the usual garbage minutes for the athletic, six-foot-tall man.

But Queta, with his energy on both ends of the court and his relentlessness on the boards, was in the middle of a wild turnaround that allowed the Celtics to erase that sizable deficit. Queta played the rest of the game and scored just two points, but grabbed nine rebounds in 14 minutes – five of which came on offense. He finished with a plus-18 rating, by far the Celtics’ best rating.

It was an improbable performance in Boston’s first loss of the season and drew much applause from Mazzulla.

“It’s a credit to him, a credit to the boys. They just stayed ready,” Mazzulla told reporters after the game, according to NBC Sports Boston coverage. “We just tried to get something out of it with different formations. Everyone played a role in it. I thought (Queta) did a great job on both ends of the floor, just his activity, his physicality, excited us. So it was great stuff from him and I appreciate that.”

Showing why the Celtics were banking on his strength, Queta rewarded him with a three-year contract this offseason – a somewhat surprising deal considering the 25-year-old only played 28 games for Boston in the 2023-24 season.

Queta threw down an alley-oop from Jaylen Brown just seconds after entering the court, then went to work knocking down defensive rebounds and fiercely keeping possession alive on the other end of the court.

One of Queta’s better moments came on a drive by Pacers guard Ben Sheppard with 43.1 seconds left in regulation. Sheppard drove on the baseline and tried to finish on the other side of the rim, but was met by Queta, who timed everything perfectly for a crucial rejection.

Mazzulla remained with Queta against Al Horford, Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman for almost the final nine minutes of regulation and overtime. No one in this trio has the same athleticism as Queta.

While Horford’s role is solidified, Kornet and Tillman’s position in the rotation is more fluid. And Queta’s strong performance opened up the opportunity for him to potentially steal minutes from Kornet and Tillman on offense.