Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams caught a lot of flak for providing the Miami Heat with unnecessary ammo in Game 2, yet in a must-win Game 4 he ignored the outside noise and did his job.
After going down 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics finally responded with a 116-99 win on Tuesday night. Celtics star Jayson Tatum did most of the work, but Boston's supporting cast also stepped up. Williams in particular showed his worth by scoring 14 points in less than 30 minutes of playing time.
Additionally, his four triples propelled the C's to their best 3-point shooting game of the series. Two-time All-Star Jaylen Brown applauded Williams for his performance and told the media that he's key to the team's success, via Jay King of The Athletic.
“Grant comes in and adds to winning,” Brown said.
The biggest play of the contest for Grant Williams might not have even been on offense, though. With less than 9 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Heat leader Jimmy Butler was looking to hit a clutch shot to shrink Boston's lead. Instead, Williams swatted his attempt out of the air and easily collected the ball:
Grant Williams denies Jimmy Butler with his 2nd block of the night pic.twitter.com/niOdWaHk0J
— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) May 24, 2023
Butler has haunted the C's, and many other teams, down the stretch. In Game 2, he and Williams jawed at each other before the Heat stormed back in the final quarter to win. A lot of people started to blame the fourth-year Celtic for motivating Butler's heroics.
Jimmy Butler and Grant Williams. 🍿🍿
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 20, 2023
After comparing his Game 2 smack talk with his Game 4 block, it seems as if Williams learned his lesson. He didn't get in Butler's face and just moved on from the play. If the C's want to keep their season alive, they'll need continued production off the bench from Williams.
The Celtics will now head back to Beantown for Game 5 on Thursday night in another do-or-die situation.
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