Grant Williams had not one, but two chances to seal a win for the Celtics on Monday night, but the fourth-year pro let both opportunities go by the wayside.
Williams was sent to the free-throw line when Boston and Cleveland were tied very late in the fourth quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Since the Cavaliers had no timeouts, even one made free throw from Williams would have forced Donovan Mitchell and company to try to win the game via a desperation heave with 0.8 seconds to go.
The struggling forward couldn’t get either shot from the charity stripe to go, though, and Cleveland ended up winning the game in overtime. The loss marked the Celtics’ third straight defeat in which they blew a lead of at least 14 points.
As is the case when any basketball player suffers an embarrassing on-court moment, Williams felt the wrath of NBA Twitter following his back-breaking misses.
To make matters worse for Williams, he told Mitchell he was going to make both free throws before he stepped to the line. All told, it could be a while before the Tennessee product is able to live this one down.
The Celtics will try to halt their losing streak Wednesday when they host Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
