Grant Williams declares the flagrant 2-foul on Jayson Tatum

While the Celtics were putting the finishing touches on their win over the Hornets on Friday, a situation arose right at the end of the game. Grant Williams fouled Jayson Tatum hard, causing the Celtics star to fall straight to the ground. Jaylen Brown and some Celtics were outraged by Williams' hard foul.

After the review, Williams was sent off as the play was ruled a flagrant 2 foul. Williams had an early loss against the Hornets and exited the game with 2:02 remaining. The Hornets also imploded at the end, although they narrowly trailed the defending champions throughout the game. After the game, the former Celtics forward explained from his perspective what happened during the ejection.

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“I think at the time of the game that was obviously stressed, the 2,” Williams said, via CLNS Media. “It was a transition opportunity and I tried to play the ball. I reached over his body. If you slow down the playback it looks like I'm doing the game and just trying to follow it. JT is one of my closest friends in the league. This is not intentional.”

Williams added that he believes there will be no further upsets toward Tatum after the game. Williams said he couldn't say anything about Tatum after the game because Tatum jumped right up from the floor and went to the free throw line. Brown called out Williams after the game, saying the foul was intentional and describing it as a football play.

Interestingly, the Celtics and Hornets will play back-to-back in Charlotte again on Saturday at 6 p.m. While Williams doesn't believe the foul was anything serious, it does set the stage for the two teams heading into the second game.

It's not the first time Williams has had a falling out with his former team. Last season, when Williams was with the Mavericks, he fouled Brown hard on a play. Brown wasn't happy about that hard foul after the game last season, so there's some history to that. Williams spent his first four seasons in the league with the Celtics before earning a contract with the Mavericks.

“I don't think anyone thought it was malicious intent just because you don't see anyone running toward me,” Williams said. “JB was frustrated because you don’t want to hurt your teammates and stuff like that, and I understand that. In my opinion, there was nothing that difficult or intentional.”