Celtics

“That just wasn’t a basketball game. Grant knows better.’

Grant Williams crashed into Jayson Tatum at full speed late in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ win over Charlotte on Friday night.

Williams was ejected from the game after being called for a Flagrant 2 foul. He told reporters the act was not intentional, but Celtics forward Jaylen Brown disagrees.

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

Celtics guard Derrick White also said the 6-foot-2 Williams should know better than to run into people at full speed while dribbling a basketball.

“Just like what JB just said, he obviously wasn’t going for the ball,” White said. “He’s just too damn big to do stuff like that and he knows it, but JB always has our back and we know that and we always have JT’s back.”

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, who said earlier this week that he would like to see the NBA bring back the fighting, said he liked the physicality in the game.

He also said he liked Tatum’s response, who was hit with plays that resulted in flagrant fouls for two different Hornets players. LaMelo Ball was assessed a Flagrant 1 for contact with Tatum while attempting a three-point shot.

‘I’m glad he’s doing well. What I liked most is that he immediately jumped up. He didn’t stay down. It didn’t really upset him,” Mazzulla said. “He went right up there, went to the free-throw line and did his business. I don’t like that he did it. I’m glad he’s doing well, but I’m even happier that he responded to it. Just get up, move on, next game. And the team responded well too, so all credit to them.

“I just liked how JT handled it. It was great. If you get hit like that, you get right back up. Big time.”

Brown said there is no place in the game for the way Williams conducted himself Friday night.

“I thought Grant and JT were friends,” Brown said. “I don’t think so.”

Brown agreed with Mazzulla’s view that long-term physical challenges can bring teams closer together.

“I think this brings out a side of our team that we need,” Brown said. “I think this adds an extra dimension to our team and that is what we need if we want to continue winning games at a high level. You need a little bit of edge, a little bit of chippyness, a little bit of fight in you. I applaud that too. I agree with Joep.”

Khari A. Thompson

Sports reporter

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Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

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