Jaylen Brown blasts Grant Williams for “Ray Lewis” tackle on Jayson Tatum

Some jealousy appears to have erupted between Grant Williams and the Celtics on Friday in the form of a “football game,” as Jaylen Brown called it.

With just over two minutes to play and the Celtics leading the Hornets 114-105, Jayson Tatum grabbed a defensive backboard and dribbled the ball down the court just before Williams knocked his former teammate down with a shoulder check at half court a wild scene.

There was no question of a foul. Williams did not appear to be aiming for the ball as he hit Tatum on his left shoulder while the ball was in his right hand. Williams was called for an apparent 2 on the play.

After the incident, Tatum remained calm and walked away without confrontation. On the other hand, Brown yelled at Williams as he left the field and didn't hold back in the postgame press conference.

“It was certainly intentional, what are we talking about here? He hit him like it was a football game,” he told reporters. “Like Ray Lewis coming through the middle. It is what it is. Grant knows better.”

“Actions speak loudly, so it is what it is,” Brown continued. “We got the win, we’re moving forward, but there’s no room for that in the game. I thought JT and Grant were friends. I do not think so.”

Williams, who played for Celtic for four seasons, was called for a Flagrant 2 foul, with the referee deeming it a “non-basketball play,” and he was ejected from the game in which Boston beat Charlotte 124-109 defeated.

Williams told NBC that the foul was “definitely not intentional” and called Tatum “one of my closest friends in the league.”

“I think it was mostly because he didn’t see me more,” Williams said. “I reach forward, and I definitely made contact with the body before I reached it.”

Williams and Tatum were teammates in Boston for four seasons from 2019 to 2023. Before Friday's game, Williams commented on the Celtics winning the 2024 NBA title, saying there was no “bad blood” between him and his former team.

“Honestly, I didn’t really feel down about leaving Boston,” Williams told reporters. “I wasn’t one of those people where things would have been different if I had been traded out there, like there was bad blood.”

Tatum led the Celtics with a double-double of 32 points and 11 rebounds as they won their fifth game of the season.

Williams committed five personal fouls as well as six points and seven rebounds before his ejection.