close
close

Jayson Tatum gives Grant Williams cold shoulders after the Celtics beat the Hornets

Jayson Tatum gives Grant Williams cold shoulders after the Celtics beat the Hornets

The Boston Celtics hosted the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center for the second straight year, only this time Jayson Tatum didn't feel like a post-game greeting with the opposing bench, which included Grant Williams.

Tatum returned to the court less than 24 hours after Williams' brutal foul on his former Celtics teammate in the closing stages of Friday night's contest, resulting in a flagrant 2 and an automatic ejection. Everything about the unnecessary foul was confusing, from the intent to Williams' explanation afterward to the possible suspension from the league that would have sidelined Williams for Saturday night.

Instead, Tatum walked away with the last laugh as Boston defeated Charlotte with a 113-103 victory, moving the Celtics to 6-1 on the season. When the final buzzer sounded to end the fourth quarter, Tatum immediately went into the dugout to avoid Williams and gave him a well-deserved cold shoulder. Williams maintained that there was no ill intent behind Tatum's aggressive pushing mid-dribble and that Boston would understand that.

Maybe Tatum isn't as understanding or willing to agree with Williams.

The five-time All-Star finished the game with a team-leading 29 points on 7 of 15 shooting, as well as seven rebounds and three assists, easily outscoring Williams – Williams scored five points on 2 of 6 shooting in 34 minutes. Boston couldn't counter Williams by matching the 25-year-old's bone-chilling physicality, but the team got its message across with a few bold plays. First, Tatum blown from Williams to throw down a two-handed dunk to give the Celtics a 108-93 lead in the fourth quarter that hangs on the court for style points. Then, moments later, Neemias Queta followed up by catching a lob from Tatum and hammering a dunk right over Williams' head, who immediately gave him a stare as well.

Story continues below advertisement

It wasn't clear how Tatum was feeling, considering he hadn't spoken to the media after Friday night's unforeseen ending, but when Williams extended a housewarming invitation to his Charlotte home — and chicken wings — the answer seemed clear to be: Williams can keep his invitation, wings and antics all to himself.

The Celtics and Hornets will meet again on April 11th.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *