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Neemias Queta’s first season as a full-time starting center for the Boston Celtics has gone according to plan, as teammates have already begun rallying around his campaign for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
In the third quarter of Friday night’s 144-118 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, he drew the loudest crowd reaction of the night. Queta set a screen for Jaylen Brown and hovered around the perimeter as Brown drove and kicked the ball out to Jordan Walsh. Walsh then passed up the three and tossed it back to Queta, who sank his first-career 3-pointer, sending both TD Garden and Boston’s bench into a frenzy.
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Luka Garza and Ron Harper Jr. stood up with both arms in the air. Nikola Vučević raised three fingers, and Queta returned the gesture.
“Buttery. It was buttery,” Sam Hauser told reporters, per CLNS Media. “It was smooth.”
There was no bounce off the rim. No help from the backboard. Just a clean, nothing-but-net make from the 7-footer.
Queta missed his first seven attempts this season after missing three last season. In his first three seasons — two with the Sacramento Kings and his first with Boston — he didn’t attempt a single 3-pointer. Still, during his first year with the Celtics, Queta routinely worked on his 3-point shot with the team’s stay-ready group while serving as a backup to Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford. That pregame work carried over into his transition to a starting role this season, with teammates eagerly awaiting his moment.
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“He was pretty excited about that one,” Hauser said. “We were pretty excited for him. But he’s done a great job all year, gotten better and better and better, and really shown why he’s a starting five in this league and on our team. And I think his name should be in the running for Most Improved Player. He’s come up big for us a lot this year, and we’re gonna need for him to continue that.”
Giving the Celtics a 99-58 lead, Queta helped the team accomplish two feats: clinching the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and tying the NBA’s record for 3-pointers made in a game (29). Although…
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Publish date : 2026-04-11 08:58:00
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