Grant Williams Ejected for Foul on Celtics' Jayson Tatum; NBA Fans Sound Off on Video

Grant Williams Ejected for Foul on Celtics’ Jayson Tatum; NBA Fans Sound Off on Video

Posted by Admin November 2, 2024 NBA

Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams was ejected from Friday night’s home game against the Boston Celtics after committing a flagrant foul against former teammate Jayson Tatum.

Tatum was dribbling up the court when Williams ran into him and appeared to use his shoulder to knock him over.

Noa Dalzell 🏀 @NoaDalzell

Jaylen Brown is heated with Grant Williams hard foul on Jayson Tatum, it appears pic.twitter.com/GywEWCCdp9

Miles Bridges was also ejected from the game after he was assessed two technical fouls.

The Hornets lost 124-109 to the visiting Celtics, dropping Charlotte’s record to 2-3 on the season.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game that he was impressed with Tatum’s reaction to the hit.

Noa Dalzell 🏀 @NoaDalzell

Joe Mazzulla liked how Jayson Tatum reacted to the Grant Williams foul:
“I’m glad that he’s fine. 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.” pic.twitter.com/rSozygHbzo

Derrick White meanwhile expressed displeasure with Williams and the rest of the Hornets after the win.

Celtics on NBC Sports Boston @NBCSCeltics

“The stuff at the end was BS, but we got the win”@Kay_Breezy22 caught up with Derrick White after the Celtics got the win over the Hornets, and he gave his reaction to Grant Williams’ cheap shot on Tatum
Presented by @NEFordDealers pic.twitter.com/IDScIAPtv7

Jaylen Brown made similar comments, telling reporters after the game, “Actions speak loud. It is what it is. We got the win. We move on. There’s no place in the game for that. I thought JT and Grant was friends. I guess not.”

Bleacher Report @BleacherReport

“I thought JT and Grant was friends. I guess not.”
Jaylen Brown on Grant Williams’ flagrant 2 foul on Jayson Tatum 😬 pic.twitter.com/45lZoSfxxq

Others joined White in calling out Williams for his foul on Tatum.

Bill Simmons @BillSimmons

Come on Grant Williams – that was lame.

Dan Karpuc @DanielKarpuc

Grant Williams was a role player on the Celtics.
He signed a $53M contract with the Mavs and capitalized on his association with the C’s.
After rubbing the them the wrong way, DAL realized they overpaid and sent him to Charlotte.
He should be thanking Boston, not doing this. https://t.co/wwItqdVmQl

Christopher Wahman @CWahman

Grant Williams is cut from the same cloth as Draymond Green and Patrick Beverly. They are useful all around players, particularly on defense. But extremely emotional, volatile players. Players who can’t be relied upon to stay in games and have positive impacts

Daniel Donabedian @danield1214

The Celtics just shot 7 free throws in a row. Grant Williams erased any chance of a comeback with that dumb foul.

ACC Brando @BrandoNumbaNine

Grant Williams lost all his respect from Celtics fans lol

Gio Rivera @sportsguygio

Grant Williams pregame: I might invite Jayson Tatum over to my house after the game to catch up.
Williams in the 4th Q: I’m gonna take a cheap shot on Tatum for absolutely zero reason.

Heather @animalluver84

I can’t wait to see the reception Grant Williams will now get in Boston on April 11th.

Williams spent four seasons with Tatum and the Celtics before departing the team in a sign-and-trade with the Dallas Mavericks in July 2023. The forward was then dealt to the Hornets at the 2023-24 deadline.

Williams’ public relationship with his former team had appeared to be positive, despite the 2023 trade and the Celtics’ run to the 2024 title without him, prior to Friday’s game.

Tatum called Williams a “great teammate” on X in March, and Williams said during a pregame interview that he had spoken with his former teammates prior to Friday’s home game.

“We talked last night, just because I was going to invite them over to my house, but I told them, I said I had a date night with my girl, so let’s just say that trumps them,” Williams said.

The former Celtics forward added: “I talked to JT after the game, and stuff like that… after we play, we’ll talk a lot. We might hang out tonight.”

It looks like those plans might be in jeopardy after Williams’ ejection from Friday night’s Hornets loss.

Tatum and Williams could face one another again in less than 24 hours as the Celtics and Hornets prepare for another matchup at Spectrum Center on Saturday night. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. ET.