Celtics’ Grant Williams on provoking Heat’s Jimmy Butler in Game 2: ‘I’m a competitor and I’m going to battle’

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One major change the Boston Celtics made in Game 2 was playing Grant Williams. He didn’t play a single second in the first game of the Eastern Conference finals, but played 26 minutes on Friday night. In that time, Williams scored nine points, grabbed two rebounds and dished out two assists. That production isn’t what his performance in this game is going to be remembered for, though. Instead, he’s catching some major flak for “poking the bear” and aggravating Jimmy Butler in the fourth quarter.   

Grant talked trash to Butler after knocking down a 3-pointer, and then the two had to be separated on the other side of the floor after Butler scored on Williams and was fouled in the process. 

Following Williams’ 3-pointer, which put Boston up 96-87, the Heat outscored the Celtics 24-9 the rest of the way, with nine of those points scored by Butler himself. After the game, Williams’ decision to provoke Butler was a major talking point, and the Celtics forward explained his side of the story and why he isn’t built to back down. 

“I think he said something and I just responded,” Williams said. “I’m a competitor, and I’m going to battle. He got the best of me tonight, and at the end of the day, it’s out of respect, because I’m not going to run away from it. My mom always taught me, and my dad as well, you get your ass kicked and you don’t come back home until you come battle again. You either come back before you die or you come back and get a win, and I’m not willing to die in this finals. I’m ready to f—ing get a win. I’m ready to come back and come into Game 3 with a better mentality, and I know this team is as well.

“So at the end of the day, tonight is tonight. We’ve got to focus in and let this shit hurt, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to come in tomorrow and really focus on what’s next.”

Williams showed some real accountability by admitting that providing Butler with some added fuel for the fire probably wasn’t his best idea, but he also added that he would have expected Butler to take over down the stretch of the game…

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-grant-williams-on-provoking-heats-jimmy-butler-in-game-2-im-a-competitor-and-im-going-to-battle/

Author : Michael Kaskey-Blomain

Publish date : 2023-05-20 17:33:10

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