Some underlying jealousy appears to have arisen between Grant Williams and the Celtics on Friday in the form of what Jaylen Brown called a “football game.”

With just over two minutes left in the game and the Celtics leading the Hornets, 114-105, Jayson Tatum grabbed a defensive board and dribbled the ball onto the court, just before Williams hit his former teammate with a shoulder check placed in half court. was a wild scene.

There was no wrong decision. Williams didn’t appear to be going for the ball when he hit Tatum on his left shoulder while the ball was in his right hand. Williams was called for a flagrant 2 on the play.

After the incident, Tatum remained calm and walked away without confrontation. On the other hand, Brown shouted at Williams as he left the field and didn’t hold back at the post-match press conference either.

“It was definitely intentional, what are we talking about here? He hit him like it was a football match,” he told reporters. ‘It’s like Ray Lewis coming through the middle. It is what it is. Grant knows better than that.’

“Actions speak loudly, so it is what it is,” Brown continued. “We have won, we will move on, but there is no place for that in the game. I thought JT and Grant were friends. I don’t think so.”

Williams, who was a Celtic for four seasons, was called for a Flagrant 2 foul, with the referee ruling it a “non-basketball play,” and he was ejected from the game in which Boston defeated Charlotte 124-109.

Williams told NBC that the foul was “absolutely not intentional” and called Tatum “one of my best friends in the league.”

“I think it was more him not seeing me more than anything,” Williams said. “Like I’m reaching, and I definitely made contact with the body before I reached it.”

Williams and Tatum were teammates in Boston for four seasons from 2019-2023. Before the game on Friday, Williams commented on the Celtics winning the 2024 NBA title and said there is no “bad blood” between him and his former team.

“To be honest, I didn’t really feel down about leaving Boston,” Williams told reporters. “I wasn’t one of those where if I had been traded out of there, it would have been different, like there was bad blood.”

Tatum led the Celtics with a double-double of 32 points and 11 rebounds as they won their fifth game of the season.

Williams committed five personal fouls before being ejected, along with six points and seven rebounds.