boston celts Star Jaylen Brown finished with 25 points in Friday’s 124-109 victory over the charlotte hornetsbut the night was ruined when former Celtics teammate Grant Williams committed a “Ray Lewis”-like foul on Jayson Tatum with minutes left.

Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown criticized former teammate Grant Williams for nearly tackling Jayson Tatum

Brown clashed with former teammate Grant Williams, who collided with Tatum from the sidelines while Tatum was dribbling near midcourt late in the fourth quarter. It looked more like an NFL tackle attempt than a run-of-the-mill foul in the game. NBA. Williams looked set for an automatic ejection at this point in the game.

Tatum fell to the ground. Brown then came in and criticized Williams and the Hornets bench. Tatum looked upset when he stood up, but simply walked to the foul line as the referees reviewed the play.

Williams was ejected for a flagrant 2 foul and could face a league suspension. When asked if he thought Williams’ foul was inadvertent, Brown wasted no time in defending his teammate from reporters.

Hard foul by Grant Williams on Tatum pic.twitter.com/VUzN4W5oMw

– Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) November 2, 2024

“Like, what are we talking about? Did you see the same play that I was seeing? Brown told reporters at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. “He hit it like it was a football play. Like, Ray Lewis crossing the middle or something. It is what it is. Grant (knew) better than that.”

Brown said there is no place in the NBA for a foul like that and questioned why Williams would want to try to hurt a former teammate. Williams played alongside Tatum in Boston from 2019 to 2023.

“I thought JT and Grant were friends. … I guess not,” Brown said.

Williams said his foul on Tatum was unintentional

Williams acknowledged it was a hard foul, but said it was unintentional.

“I’m not trying to hurt anyone. “We all know he’s one of my closest friends in the league,” Williams told NBC Sports Boston. “JB kind of escalated things, but I understand he’s trying to protect his teammate. But that’s (Tatum) my dog. Whatever happens, I will support you. … There is no malice or any problem with that.”

Tatum finished his night with a game-high 32 points, going 9 of 19 (47.4%) from the field, 3 of 9 (33.3%) from 3-point range and 11 of 13 (84, 6%). ) at the free throw line. The five-time All-Star declined to speak to the media afterward.

“I was trying to make a play on the ball… JT is one of my closest friends in the league. You can’t try to hurt him in any way… I don’t think anyone thought it was malicious intent in any way.” “.

–– Grant Williams in his FLAGRANT 2 on Jayson Tatum

Full interview:… pic.twitter.com/DBCXhrqapv

– Celts on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) November 2, 2024

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla applauded Tatum for walking away and avoiding a physical confrontation with Williams.

“I’m glad (Tatum) is okay,” he said. “What I liked the most is that he jumped and didn’t stay down. That didn’t faze him. “He got up, took the free throw and did his thing.”

However, the drama did not end after Williams’ foul on Tatum. Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball fouled Tatum on a 3-point attempt and was called for a flagrant foul for an unsportsmanlike foul.

In the final seconds, Hornets forward Miles Bridges was also ejected.

“Teams like to send messages and try to set the tone and do all kinds of different things to try to get us out of character or mess with our minds or make us feel like we’ve figured it out or whatever the case may be,” Jaylen Brown added. . “We are not going to accept any of that. And we’re not, that’s all. “We’re just not going to go.”

The rematch will be highly anticipated on Saturday night in Boston.