The Boston Celtics cruised to a 124-109 win over the Charlotte Hornets, but the game took a heated turn when Grant Williams delivered a flagrant foul on Jayson Tatum, leading to his ejection from the game.
Tatum was bringing the ball down the court when Williams, disregarding any play on the ball, aggressively body-checked him, sending the Celtics star to the floor. Despite the incident, Tatum was tight-lipped afterward.
“I mean, I don’t really want to talk about it,” Tatum said when asked about the flagrant foul. “It’s just — got ready for the game today, we came to Charlotte and did what we were supposed to do, and we’re going to Atlanta to try to get another win before we go home.”
Tatum went on to say that encounters like this help him grow as a player. “They put Grant on me to deny, they didn’t want me to get the ball, they face-guarded me,” he said. “It makes you stronger, it makes you better. You figure out more ways to impact the game. Don’t limit yourself to just one way to be effective. I lift every gameday, so that stuff don’t really bother me.”
Grant Williams #2 of the Charlotte Hornets makes a flagrant foul on Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics in the fourth quarter. Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images
Jaylen Brown on Williams’ foul
Jaylen Brown was stunned by Williams’ action. “Like, what are we talking about? Y’all see the same play that I was seeing?” Brown told reporters. “He hit him like it was a football play. Like, Ray Lewis coming across the middle or something. It is what it is. Grant know better than that.”
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“Actions speak loud… It is what it is. We got the win, and we move on, but there’s no place in the game for that. I thought JT and Grant were friends. I guess not,” Brown added.
Celtics HC praises Tatum’s response
After being knocked down, Tatum quickly got up and headed to the free-throw line, avoiding any verbal or physical retaliation—a reaction praised by Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla.
“I’m glad that he’s fine,” Mazzulla said. “What I like most is that he jumped right up, didn’t lay around, didn’t really phase… I’m happy that he’s okay… I just like how JT handled it, it was great.”
