Bench production may prove key when the Grizzlies and Mavs meet up on Friday in the Play-In Tournament.
Tie game.
With 10:32 remaining in the second quarter, Williams worked his way into the paint, drawing defenders and spotted P.J. Washington wide open in the corner, who hit a floater.
Again, tie game.
A minute later, Klay Thompson goes to the rim, drawing the defense, drops it off to Dereck Lively II near the basket, who finds Williams for a spot up triple.
32-29, Dallas goes ahead.
For good.
30 seconds later, at the 9:03 mark of the second quarter, Williams hit his third straight three, putting the Mavericks up six, 35-29, after scoring or creating every point of an 11-2 run.
When he first entered the game with 1:51 remaining in the first quarter, Dallas was trailing 25-23. By the time he returned to the bench with 6:58 remaining in the half, they were up 43-35. It was a pivotal time in the game, and a catalyst for a dominant Dallas run that put them on the path to victory.
Williams wasn’t done, though.
With 3:45 left in the half, and Dallas’ lead now at 12, Williams entered again and went to work. First, throwing a perfect lob to Anthony Davis for an easy bucket. Then, working the pick-and-roll with Davis, who found him for back-to-back triples. By halftime, Dallas was up 71-48, in full control and well on their way to earning a date with the Grizzlies on Friday.
Williams finished the game with 17 points and five assists in just 18 minutes off the bench in the 120-106 win over the Kings.
Until a week ago, Williams had never signed a standard NBA contract.
After his freshman season with the Arizona Wildcats, he underwent knee surgery and was forced to miss his sophomore campaign. Instead of returning to Arizona, Williams decided to go pro.
The then-21-year-old went to the G League to play for the Westchester Knicks. His performance there led to an opportunity with the Trail Blazers, where he appeared in 24 games between a 10-day and then two-way contract during the 2021-22 campaign. He averaged 12.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in 26 minutes per game.
In 2023-24, Williams earned another two-way deal. This time with Dallas. However, his time on the floor was limited. Appearing in just seven games for the Texas Legends of the G League and 17 games for the Mavericks, where he averaged just 6.6 minutes per game.
Dallas had seen enough to retain Williams, though, and re-signed him to another two-way deal for this season. Again, Williams saw little opportunity early, appearing in 20 games and averaging 8.6 minutes from the start of the season until the end of February. However, after Kyrie Irving tore his ACL on March 3, that changed.
Williams appeared in 11 games last month, averaging 16.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 26 minutes. His efforts led to him having his two-way contract converted to a standard NBA contract.
The new deal allowed him to keep playing for the Mavericks after he surpassed the limit of 50 active games as part of a two-way contract. His performance earned him that, and Dallas knew they couldn’t go forward without him as part of their active roster.
On Wednesday night, he proved Dallas right as a catalyst of the Mavericks’ dominant second quarter that extended their season.
He’ll have a chance to do so again Friday against Memphis, in the West’s final SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament matchup for the No. 8 seed in the NBA Playoffs.
