BOSTON — There are a lot of Celtics fans who have beef with Grant Williams following his fourth-quarter squabble with Jimmy Butler in Boston’s loss to the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Williams doesn’t care.
“I think he said something and I just responded,” Williams said in the Celtics locker room postgame, per NBC Sports Boston. “I’m a competitor, I’m gonna battle. He got the best of me tonight and at the end of the day it’s out of respect. I’m not going to run away from it, my mom always taught me — and my dad as well, you get your (expetive) kicked you don’t come back home until you battle again. … I’m not willing to die in this finals. I’m ready to get a (expletive) win.
“… He made some tough shots. I battled and I’m gonna keep battling. He’s going to have to make every single tough shot for the rest of the series, and I’m not going to turn and look otherwise. I respect him as a (expletive) player.”
The whole situation was one that is almost to be expected from a playoff series. Williams hit a big shot on Butler and talked some trash. Butler came down, got Williams in a one-on-one, scored despite being fouled, and responded with some of his own. The two got face-to-face for a moment before Butler went nuclear to help the Heat close the game on a 20-9 run. The issue for Celtics fans? Butler’s response, as many saw it as poking a player who is viewed as one of the most fierce competitors in the sport.
You can watch the play here.
Butler doesn’t need extra motivation, which is clear when you see what he said coming off the court.
“There’s just no way he thought that was the answer,” Butler said, per TNT’s broadcast. “There’s no way. There’s no way.”
The Celtics now have to go to Miami and win at least one game if it hopes to return to TD Garden this season. That much would be difficult against any team, but especially a fiery squad like the Heat. If Williams doesn’t have any regrets about the decision to poke Butler, he might by the end of Game 4.
