Joe Mazzulla Offers On-Brand Reaction To Grant Williams Cheap Shot On Jayson Tatum
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla grabbed attention this week when he said he wanted to see physicality re-introduced back into the NBA.
Well, Mazzulla got his wish Friday night. The only downside was his star player was on the other end of a cheap shot.
Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams came flying in and steamrolled his former Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum while the five-time All-Star made his way down the court with the ball with 2:02 left in Boston’s 124-109 win at the Spectrum Center. The unnecessary foul was deemed a flagrant 2, resulting in an automatic ejection for Williams.
Mazzulla, as he’s known to do, offered a unique reaction to the hard collision between Williams and Tatum.
“I loved it. It was great. It was tremendous,” Mazzulla told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston postgame coverage. “Physical game, guys handled it well. Great poise, great execution. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Tatum, who scored a game-high 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, got up quickly after getting knocked to the floor by Williams and made a beeline for the free-throw line. Tatum’s co-star Jaylen Brown came to his defense, getting in a few words for Williams before the two were separated.
Tatum’s unemotional reaction stood out to Mazzulla, though, and he couldn’t have been happier about it.
“I don’t like to see him (get trucked). I’m glad that he’s fine,” Mazzulla said. “What I liked most was how he jumped right up, didn’t lay around, didn’t really faze him. Just went right up, went to the free-throw line, did his business. I don’t like the fact that he did it, but I’m happy he’s OK. But I’m more happy how he responded to it. Just get up, move on to the next play and the team responded well, too. It’s a credit to him.”
The Hornets were pesky but Williams’ encounter with Tatum was just one example of Charlotte losing its composure down the stretch as the Celtics closed the game on a 24-9 run.
LaMelo Ball was called for a flagrant 1 foul on Tatum for being in his landing area seconds after Williams was tossed and Miles Bridges picked up a double technical in the final minute of the game.