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Jaylen Brown messages Grant Williams after covering Jayson Tatum
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Jaylen Brown messages Grant Williams after covering Jayson Tatum

Grant Williams does scheduled to host some of his former teammates about his house after the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets met on the court Friday night.

But don’t expect Celtics star Jaylen Brown to head to Williams’ residence after what the Hornets forward scored late in Boston’s 124-109 win at the Spectrum Center.

Williams aggressively flew in from the sideline and covered Jayson Tatum as the five-time All-Star came onto the court with the ball with 2:02 left in the fourth quarter. The play was reviewed and the officials gave Williams a flagrant 2 foul, resulting in an automatic ejection.

Williams said after the game that it was not his intention to trick Tatum, even though it seemed that way. Brown didn’t believe Williams’ comments and called out his former teammate.

“It was definitely intentional. What are we talking about? You’ll see the same play I saw,” Brown told reporters, according to NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “He hit him like it was a football match, like Ray Lewis coming down the middle or something. It is what it is. Grant knows better than that.’

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The force of Williams’ hit on Tatum sent them sprawling to the ground. Tatum quickly stood up and said nothing to Williams. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla liked the kind of reaction his best player got.

But Brown got between a few Hornets players and had words for Williams before they parted ways.

“I just said, ‘That was a (expletive).’ That’s pretty much it. Nothing crazy,” Brown said.

Williams played with Tatum for four seasons during his tenure with the Celtics. The two developed a strong friendship and could be seen joking around during pre-match warm-ups. Tatum even defended Williams when former Celtics play-by-play announcer Mike Gorman called Williams a “bad locker room guy” last season.

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Williams still seemed to be in good standing with Tatum and the rest of the Celtics, as there were plenty of warm greetings before Friday’s game. But Williams’ actions certainly left a bad taste in Brown’s mouth, as the Celtics forward had no problem expressing criticism.

“I don’t know what that was about,” Brown said. “I think that spoke for itself. I don’t know if Grant missed JT. I don’t know what that was. It just wasn’t a basketball game. Grant knows better than that.’

Brown added: “Actions speak loudly. It is what it is. We won, we move on. But there is no room for that in the game. I thought JT and Grant were friends. I don’t think so.”