To start the beginning of a four-game Western Conference road trip against some of the best teams in the West, the Boston Celtics needed to lean on backup center Neemias Queta against Minnesota on Thursday night.

Queta entered the game in the second quarter and completely changed everything. He made a strong and impactful presence on both ends of the court on a night that the Celtics really needed it.

He played the entire second quarter, scoring six-points, grabbing three rebounds, and made one steal to finish the half as a game-high plus-minus +17.

Queta went on to finish the game with eight-points, five rebounds, one steal, and held on to the game-high plus-minus of +17 that he had in the first half.

While Queta got rolling in the second quarter, he targeted Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in the paint and made him look small. With a minute before halftime, Queta attacked the paint to go 1-on-1 with Gobert. He bodied him and put in a pivot machine to finish with a small hook shot.

Queta has strong physical qualities that only he possesses in the center position group. He doesn’t shoot threes and he’s not going to make flashy plays, but what Queta can be relied on is his energy and effort on both ends of the court.

Here’s what head coach Joe Mazzulla said postgame on utilizing Queta next to Horford in this game:

“Just size with their switching. We were able to get some lobs and get to some different defensive stuff. But on the offensive end, they were switching and doubling and we got a couple of those help-ups and I just thought that gave us some good versatility on both ends of the floor.”

It’s worth mentioning that Kristaps Porzingis missed his fourth consecutive game with an ankle injury and it also marks the 23rd missed game of the season for him.

With the Celtics playing on the second night of a back-to-back on Friday in Houston, we know that Al Horford isn’t going to be available and it’s possible that Porzingis will miss this game too.

Either way, this should be another heavy game for Queta in the second game of the four-game road trip.

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Photo Credit: David Sherman, NBAE Getty Images