The Charlotte Hornets fell to the Boston Celtics 124-109, but the game's outcome was a much smaller footnote in a much larger mess. Grant Williams was assessed a flagrant two after a hard foul to Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. His teammate, Derrick White, said, “The stuff at the end was BS, but we got the win.”
Jaylen Brown even drew a comparison to NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis coming across the middle to make a tackle to describe how bad the hit from Williams was.
Grant Williams said the hit on Jayson Tatum was not intentional
Both Derrick White and Jaylen Brown have every right to be upset and come to the defense of their teammate. Despite Brown calling Williams' actions intentional, Grant refutes any claims that say it was.
“Think it was more so he didn't see me more than anything else,” Hornets' Williams said. “I definitely made contact with his body before I reached, but probably a hard foul, not intentional, not trying to hurt anybody. We all know that's one of my closest friends in the league. As you see, he got up and walked away. (Jaylen Brown) kind of escalated, but I understand he's trying to protect his teammate. That's my dog, no matter what.”
Tatum and Williams did play four seasons together in Boston. The two even took a trip to the 2022 NBA finals as teammates while he was a Celtic. The two were seen catching up during warmups before tipoff. There was no way to tell what would've transpired later on in the game, but it's an unfortunate situation, to say the least.
Williams considers Jayson Tatum as one of his best friends
With all the drama swirling around Williams and his former Celtics teammates, he calls Tatum one of his best friends in the association.
“Jayson Tatum is one of my closest friends in the league. I don't think anybody thought it was a malicious intent by any means.”
There is no room for these kinds of actions in basketball, and it's clear that Williams knows that. Even after the play took place, the Hornets standout was seen raising his hand to accept responsibility for the hard foul. Actions on a basketball court happen in the blink of an eye, but it's safe to say that his former Celtics teammates are going to hold on to the episode from Friday night's matchup. At least until Saturday's game since they play each other back-to-back.
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Charles Lee still appreciates what Grant Williams brings to the table
The incident doesn't define who or what Grant Williams is for this team. His head coach, Charles Lee made sure that everyone knew that too.
“Grant’s been great. I think some of that passion that he plays with has helped us in a lot of moments this year. I think that it helps us, number one, as we prepare and we practice, and he brings great energy – a bounce and a juice to practice. As you’ve seen during games, because he has so much passion and is fearless, he’ll guard a lot of different people. He takes on a lot of different matchups, so I don’t want him to lose that. I just want him to harness it in a way that we can keep him on the court.”
Charlotte will have to bounce back Saturday night in a rematch, but it won't be easy. Boston could have a chip on their shoulder heading into that matchup.
