The most controversial play of the NBA day took place in the game that the Celtics won in Charlotte (109-124) when Toronto player Grant Williams made a brutal and senseless charge on Jayson Tatum in the center of the court during the last quarter that ended with the Celtics star forward collapsed on the floor, an incident that almost caused a monumental brawl between the players of both teams.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown compete during practice
The action cost Williams the expulsion, penalized by the referees after reviewing the play with a flagrant foul of type 2 that could lead to a suspension by the NBA. This ugly unsportsmanlike action took on special significance as Williams was Tatum’s teammate with the Celtics from 2019 to 2023, so it’s hard to imagine why he was so vicious against him.
An act of frustration against his ex?
It could be understood as an act of frustration against Tatum, who massacred the Hornets with 32 points (6/10 t2, 3/9 t3 and 11/13 tl), 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block in 36 minutes. But that did not prevent the tremendous discomfort of his former teammates. Perhaps that is why Tatum himself refused to talk about what happened after the game, despite being asked by the media. He did not want to add fuel to the fire and bit his tongue.
He hit him like it was a football play. Like Ray Lewis (former American football player) had crossed his path or something… I thought JT and Grant were friends… I guess not
Jaylen Brown did, however, who did not hide his anger when asked if that foul was intentional: “What are we talking about, do you all see the same play as me?” he said. “He hit him like it was a football play. Like Ray Lewis (former football player) had crossed his path or something like that. It is what it is. Grant knows it’s not like that. I thought JT and Grant were friends… I guess not,” he said.
Williams, for his part, admitted it was a hard foul, but said it was not intentional: “I’m not trying to hurt anybody. We all know Jayson Tatum is one of my closest friends in the league,” Williams told NBC Sports Boston. “Jaylen Brown exaggerates it a little bit, but I understand that he’s trying to protect his teammate. But that [Tatum] is my dog. No matter what happens, I take care of him… There’s no bad intention or any problem with that.”
I didn’t try to hurt him. We all know that Jay is one of my closest friends in the league… That’s my dog. No matter what happens, I take care of him… There’s no bad intention or any problem with that
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla refused to directly blame Williams: “I’m glad Tatum is OK,” he said. “What I liked most was that he jumped up and didn’t just lay there. He wasn’t fazed. He got up, went to the free throw and did his thing.”
A very rough end to the match
The game did not calm down after that unsportsmanlike foul on Tatum. Moments later, LaMelo Ball, the Hornets’ best player (31+2+4), committed another foul against the Celtics star in a three-point attempt and was penalized with a flagrant foul as it was considered dangerous by the referees. In the final seconds, Hornets forward Miles Bridges was ejected.
Teams like to send messages and try to set the tone and do all sorts of things to try and take us out of the game… but we’re not going to take any of that
“Teams like to send messages and try to set the tone and do all sorts of things to try to get us out of the game or play with our minds or make us feel like we’ve solved the problem or whatever,” Brown said. “But we’re not going to take any of that. We’re not going to take anything. We’re just not going to take anything.”
The rematch… tonight
The teams will not have to wait long to face each other again. They will meet again tonight in the same venue, although the controversial Grant Williams could miss the clash if the NBA decides to suspend him. In any case, the game looks set to be hotter than usual and with a handful of scores to settle.
