Jaylen Brown, C players react to Grant Williams’ hard foul on Tatum originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Boston Celtics guard Derrick White aptly summed up Friday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets in just a few words during his postgame interview.
“That was silly in the end, but we got the win,” he told NBC Sports Boston’s Kayla Burton.
Boston got a 124-109 victory in Charlotte, but the final result was overshadowed by a hectic final quarter. Former Celtic Grant Williams was sent off with a Flagrant 2 after checking the body of his former teammate Jayson Tatum. The Celtics star immediately got up and headed to the free throw line, but Jaylen Brown was visibly upset by Williams’ antics.
“I don’t know what it was about. I think it spoke for itself,” Brown said. “That wasn’t a basketball play. Grant knows better than that… There’s no place in the game for that. I thought JT and Grant were friends. I guess not.”
Williams told NBC Sports Boston’s Kayla Burton after the game that his hard foul was unintentional, adding that he and Tatum are good friends.
“It was probably a hard foul, definitely not intentional, definitely not an attempt to hurt him in any way,” Williams told Burton. “We all know he’s one of my closest friends in the league.”
However, Brown does not believe Williams’ claim that the foul was involuntary.
“It was probably intentional,” he said. “What are we talking about? Did you see the same play? He hit it like it was a football play, with Ray Lewis coming across the middle or something.”
Head coach Joe Mazzulla was more level-headed when asked about Williams’ hit on Tatum after the game.
“I’m glad (Tatum) is OK,” Mazzulla said. “What I like the most is how he jumped, he didn’t stay down, it didn’t really faze him. He just got up, went to the foul line and did his thing.
“I just like how JT handled it,” he added. “It was great. To take a hit like that, to get back up, it’s a great moment.”
The Hornets continued to crumble after Williams’ ejection. LaMelo Ball fouled out after receiving a Flagrant 1, and Miles Bridges was sent off after receiving a double technique. All of this happened in the last 2:02 of the game.
It remains to be seen if Williams will face discipline for his controversial play, but he may have changed his postgame plans; Williams told Burton that he had actually planned to invite several Celtics players to dinner after the game.
“I guess most of those guys aren’t coming to dinner tonight,” Williams told Burton. “…I had wings and stuff ready, so it’s funny the game ended that way. But I’ll see you guys tomorrow; we’ll compete again.”
We can expect more fireworks when these two teams meet again on Saturday at 6 pm ET. Coverage begins on NBC Sports Boston at 5:30 p.m. with Celtics pregame live.