Celtics’ Grant Williams Shouldn’t Have Poked The Bear, Heat’s Jimmy Butler Made Sure He Pays For It

Grant Williams erred when he insulted Jimmy Butler and poked him in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference playoffs. In response, Butler took the Miami Heat once again upon himself to win the arduous game 111-105 and grab a 2-0 series lead.

Celtics’ Grant Williams Shouldn’t Have Poked The Bear, Heat’s Jimmy Butler Made Sure He Pays For It

Williams and Butler got into a heated argument with 6:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, energizing the TD Garden crowd. The Eastern Conference Finals series seemed to be tied at 1-1 when the Celtics led by nine points.

Butler was the wrong person to mess with, as Williams and the C’s quickly discovered the hard way.

Williams served as Butler’s primary defender as he went 4-for-5 from the field in the fourth quarter. He was a driving force as the Heat embarked on a 26-9 run to win 111-105 and establish a 2-0 series lead.

Williams, who’s taking plenty of heat for “poking the bear” to spark Miami’s comeback, passionately addressed the incident after the loss.

After the game, Williams responded to his fight with Butler in an interview. With regard to “poking the bear” on Friday night, the 24-year-old forward has no regrets. Reporters were also informed by him that the Celtics will be prepared for Game 3.


“I’m a competitor, I’m gonna battle,” Williams said. “He got the best of me tonight. And at the end of the day, it’s out of respect because I’m not gonna run away from it. My mom always taught me, and my dad as well, you get your ass kicked, you don’t come back home until you come battle again. And you either come back before you die, or you go back and you go get a win.”

After the game, Jimmy Butler was questioned by reporters about if Grant Williams’ fight with him during the fourth quarter had any impact on him. Butler acknowledged that it helped him stay focused as he guided the Miami Heat to a comeback victory.

“He hit a big shot, started talking to me,” Butler said. “I like that, I’m all for that. It makes me key in a lot more and it pushes that will that I have to win a lot more and it makes me smile. It does. When people talk to me, I’m like, OK, I know I’m a decent player if you want to talk to me out of everybody that you can talk to. But I don’t know, it’s just competition. I do respect him though. He’s a big part of what they try to do. He switches, he can shoot the ball. I just don’t know if I’m the best person to talk to.”

Over the course of the remaining minutes, the Heat outscored Boston 24-9 (including that Butler basket). Nine of those points in the fourth quarter came from Butler, including this “too small” hit job.

 

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