Monty Williams, family attend Mavericks-Thunder Game 1

For the first time since the February death of wife Ingrid, Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Monty Williams was at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Saturday to catch his team manhandle the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of their best-of-seven playoff series.

Williams has been on a leave of absence and won't rejoin the team during the postseason. Nonetheless, his presence in the stands alongside his daughters in section 104 - where Ingrid sat for most regular-season home games - provided a huge boost for the Thunder.

"He kind of surprised us there pregame," All-Star forward Kevin Durant said following a convincing 108-70 victory. "It was good to see him. We miss him so much. He's been a huge part of this whole season for us. So it was great to see him."

Head coach Billy Donovan, who Williams joined after being dismissed by the New Orleans Pelicans, was also delighted to see him catch the game, but understands that simply being where he was in the building couldn't have been easy for him.

"Obviously going through what he went through and knowing where his family's seats are and where his wife would be sitting, I'm sure that probably took some time to even get to that place," Donovan said. "I was watching a Dallas game, one of ours at home, and I got to the end of the tape and stopped the tape and we were walking off the court and I just saw him do this (waving across the court) across the way.

"So I think the difficulty of going back into those seats is challenging. I'm really happy he wanted to come back and be a part and watch. It was great to see him."