Officials couldn’t seem to get the rim level again after Robert Williams threw one down on Sunday night in Denver. (Paul Rutherford/USA Today)
Robert Williams single-handedly delayed the Boston Celtics’ game against the Denver Nuggets by about a half hour.
Williams caught a pass and threw down an alley-oop midway through the fourth quarter of their 123-111 loss to the Nuggets at Ball Arena on Sunday night, and hung on the rim a bit before landing on his feet.
That last part, it turned out, actually ruined the rim.
Officials quickly stopped the game to go fix the rim — something that proved to be rather difficult.
After more than 30 minutes, officials finally got the rim balanced so that the game could resume.
Now, the break wasn’t a total waste. Deandre Jordan managed to have a bit of fun with a young fan sitting courtside.
The Nuggets, after leading nearly the entire way, held a 110-97 lead when the game was delayed. They cruised to the 12-point win — the 10th in their last 12 — behind a 30-point, 12 rebound, 12 assist triple-double from Nikola Jokic.
Williams finished with eight points and six rebounds off the bench for Boston, which kicked off a four-game road trip on Sunday night. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 30 points and eight rebounds, and Jayson Tatum added 25 points while shooting 7-of-16 from the field.
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