Let’s hope the dinner reservations don’t come with a 24-hour cancellation policy.
Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams put himself into an awkward spot on Friday after committing a hard foul on former Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum and told reporters after the game that the dinner plans he made with his ex-teammates might be in jeopardy.
“I would assume most of those guys will not be coming over for dinner tonight,” Williams said in a post-game interview with NBC Sports Boston. “I’ll talk to them again tomorrow. We had wings and stuff prepared, so it’s kind of funny that, well, the game ended that way.”
Williams committed the questionable foul on Tatum with two minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Hornets down 114-105. As the Celtics forward brought the ball up in transition, Williams raced toward him and trucked him, leading with his shoulder and knocking both guys to the ground.
He was assessed a flagrant 2 foul for the play, which was deemed a non-basketball play, and was ejected from the game.
“Probably a hard foul, definitely not intentional, not trying to hurt him by any means,” Williams said about the foul. “We all know that’s one of my closest friends in the league. … That’s my dawg. No matter what, he knows I’ve got his back.”
Williams’ foul drew boos from a large contingent of Celtics fans and could result in a suspension from the league.
“At review, we saw that he accelerated his speed prior to the contact, and so he makes significant contact with the dribbler,” referee James Williams told a pool reporter. “The acceleration is considered wind-up, the impact was significant, potential for injury, so this was determined to be unnecessary and excessive, which gets us to a flagrant foul penalty 2. Again, by rule, that is an automatic ejection from the game.”
Boston’s Jaylen Brown appeared upset about the foul, yelling something toward Williams and the Hornets’ bench.
In his post-game media availability, Brown spoke on the play, saying he didn’t know why his former teammate would do something like that.
“I don’t know what that was, but it wasn’t a basketball play,” Brown said. “Grant knows better than that. … Actions speak loud. It is what it is, we got the win we move on, but there’s no place in the game for that. I thought J.T. and Grant were friends.”
Williams was last in Boston during the 2022-23 season. He spent four years in Titletown after being selected by the team with the 22nd overall pick in the 2019 Draft.
He eventually left in free agency, signing with the Dallas Mavericks ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, but was traded in-season to the Charlotte Hornets, where he has remained.
The Hornets wound up losing 124-109 to the Celtics, and the final minutes somehow got even sloppier. Less than a minute after Williams was ejected, Ball was assessed a flagrant foul for kicking his leg out as Tatum was shooting a three-pointer. Officials ruled that Ball closed out in a “reckless nature” that could have injured Tatum. Ball fouled out on the play.
In the closing minute, Bridges was ejected after he knocked the ball into the stands.
“I’ll see them tomorrow, we’ll compete again. We’re on different sides now, so we’re gonna have to compete,” Williams concluded. “While we’re on the court we’re battling, but you know, we’re brothers off. Even if they may think that’s a rough play, we’re always gonna be together.”
As long as always doesn’t include the Friday night dinner he had hoped for.
— With files from the Associated Press