With a little over two minutes to go and an eventual 124-109 win for the Boston Celtics over the Charlotte Hornets nearly wrapped up, Grant Williams left his mark on the game by charging hard at Jayson Tatum — dislodging him from the ball with a hard shoulder barge. The Celtics bench, understandably, was not too pleased, and so were the officials, as they decided to eject Williams from the game for a flagrant foul penalty two.
It was a bit confusing for Celtics fans to see Williams, who was drafted by Boston back in 2019, foul Tatum in the manner he did. Sure, the Celtics were only up by nine at the point of his foul, so he was only doing whatever he could to help the Hornets retrieve possession. But many fans lost respect for Williams after his dirty play, his history with the team notwithstanding.
“Really bizarre decision by Grant Williams for that flagrant 2 on his old pal Tatum. Hope he comes out says something about it because I don’t want to lose respect for a dude I’ve always liked,” X user @Sam_Pallas wrote.
“That looked like a legit attempt to hurt Tatum. All respect gone for grant,” @jadewritescelts added.
“Grant lost a ton of respect tonight. Dirty,” @FatherOfCoins furthered.
Meanwhile, Miles Bridges compounded matters for the Hornets by having himself ejected shortly after the kerfuffle between Williams and Tatum. With the game now firmly out of reach, Bridges seemed to take out his frustration on a shot attempts following the whistle, spiking the ball towards the crowd. As is the case with plays like that, the officials decided to throw Bridges out of the game as well.
Bridges’ reputation among fans has tanked over the past few years after his run-in with the law; fans then poked fun at the Hornets forward’s history following his ejection against the Celtics on Friday night.
“I for one am shocked to see that a team with Miles Bridges struggles with emotional regulation,” @Tom_NBA wrote.
“wow i can’t believe miles bridges hit something in anger. so out of character,” @zach_idiot added.
“They should eject [Bridges] from the league all together tbh,” @AidanLaPorta69 expressed.
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Hornets lose the plot as the Celtics take care of business late
The Hornets aren’t expected to win too many games this season, but with LaMelo Ball back healthy, they can be competitive on any given night. Despite coming up against the reigning champion Celtics, the Hornets managed to hang around, only losing steam in the end as the more experienced team took care of business.
If anything, the Hornets’ more experienced players in Grant Williams and Miles Bridges should be setting a better example for their younger teammates. It’s hard to believe that Williams intentionally trucked Tatum given their time playing alongside each other, but there is no room in the game for plays that could cause a serious injury towards another player. Meanwhile, Bridges should learn how to keep his cool much more consistently, especially when he already has such a checkered past.