Grant Williams, Jimmy Butler go face-to-face in heated Game 2 exchange originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
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WATCH HEREThings got chippy during Friday's Game 2 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.
In the fourth quarter, Grant Williams knocked down a 3-pointer and had words for Jimmy Butler as they made their way to the other end of the floor.
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SIGN UP Then, on the subsequent possession, the Miami Heat star backed Williams into the paint and scored through contact. Before Butler could head to the free throw line to cut the Celtics' lead to five, he and Williams met face-to-face for a fiery exchange.
After the game, Butler said he's probably not the best guy for Williams to get chippy with, noting their exchange fueled his fourth quarter burst down the stretch, calling it "competition at its finest."
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"It makes me key in a lot more, 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, okay, I know I'm a decent player if you wanna talk to me out of everybody that you can talk to," Butler said. "It's just competition, I do respect him though. He's a big part of what they try to do...I just don't know if I'm the best person to talk to."
"Everybody's gonna focus in on that but that's for sure not the reason why we won the game," Butler added, complementing his teammates for how well they played.
Friday was Williams' first appearance in this series, having sat out Game 1 for what Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said was part of a "plan to use the depth that [they] need" to produce the best lineup for that specific night.
Williams averaged over 27 minutes for the Celtics in their Finals run last year, but has seen a steep decline in his playing time this postseason.
He's averaging just under 13 minutes in nine games and has been left out of the lineup altogether in five games, including Wednesday's 123-116 Game 1 loss.
The Celtics held as much as a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 2, but that bucket by Butler proved to be a turning point in the game. From there, Miami went on a 24-9 run to close out the game and win 111-105.
Butler finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists. On the other end of the court, Williams recorded nine points, two assists and two rebounds in 26 minutes of play.
The Celtics now head to Miami down 2-0. Game 3 is Sunday.
