Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Slams Grant Williams for ‘Ray Lewis’-Like Hit on Jayson Tatum

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown finished with 25 points in Friday’s 124-109 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, but the night was spoiled when former Celtics teammate Grant Williams committed a “Ray Lewis”-like foul on Jayson Tatum with minutes remaining.

Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown called out former teammate Grant Williams for nearly tackling Jayson Tatum

Brown took issue with ex-teammate Grant Williams, who plowed into Tatum from the side as Tatum was dribbling near half court late in the fourth quarter. It appeared more like an NFL tackle attempt than a regular common foul in the NBA. Williams seemed ready for an automatic ejection at this point in the game.

Tatum was knocked to the ground. Brown then came in and jawed at Williams and the Hornets bench. Tatum appeared upset as he got to his feet but simply walked toward the foul line as officials reviewed the play.

Williams was ejected for a Flagrant Foul 2 and may face a league suspension. When asked if he thought Williams’ foul was unintentional, Brown wasted no time to defend his teammate from reporters.

Grant Williams hard foul on Tatum 👀 pic.twitter.com/VUzN4W5oMw

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) November 2, 2024

“Like, what are we talking about? Y’all see the same play that I was seeing?” Brown told reporters at Spectrum Center in Charlotte. “He hit him like it was a football play. Like, Ray Lewis coming across the middle or something. It is what it is. Grant [knew] better than that.”

Brown said there’s no place in the NBA for a foul like that and questioned why Williams would want to try to hurt a former teammate. Williams played together with Tatum in Boston from 2019 to 2023.

“I thought JT and Grant was friends. … I guess not,” Brown said.

Williams said his foul on Tatum wasn’t intentional

Williams acknowledged it was a hard foul but said it wasn’t an intentional one.

“Not trying to hurt anybody. We all know that’s one of my closest friends in the league,” Williams told NBC Sports Boston. “JB kind of escalated it, but I understand he’s trying to protect his teammate. But that’s [Tatum] my dog. No matter what, I got his back. … No malice or any issue with that.”

Tatum ended his night with a game-high 32 points on 9-of-19 (47.4%) shooting from the field, 3-of-9 (33.3%) from 3-point range, and 11-of-13 (84.6%) at the free throw line. The five-time All-Star declined to speak to the media afterward.

"I was trying to make a play on the ball … JT is one of my closest friends in the league. There's no trying to harm him in any way … I don't think anybody thought it was a malicious intent by any means."

–– Grant Williams on his FLAGRANT 2 on Jayson Tatum

Full Interview:… pic.twitter.com/DBCXhrqapv

— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) November 2, 2024

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla applauded Tatum for walking away and avoiding a physical confrontation with Williams.

“I’m glad that [Tatum] is fine,” he said. “What I liked the most is that he jumped right up and didn’t lay around. It didn’t faze him. He got right up, went to the free throw and did his business.”

However, the drama didn’t end after Williams’ foul on Tatum. Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball fouled Tatum on a 3-point attempt and was assessed a flagrant for an unsportsmanlike foul.

In the closing seconds, Hornets forward Miles Bridges was also ejected.

“Teams like to send messages and try to set the tone and do all different type of stuff to try to either get us out of character or mess with our mind or make us feel like we solved or whatever the case is,” Jaylen Brown added. “We’re not going for none of that. And we’re not — that’s it. We’re just not going.”

The rematch will be highly anticipated on Saturday night in Boston.