It isn’t wise to poke a sleeping lion. Grant Williams had to find that out the hard way. The Boston Celtics’ encounter against the Miami Heat was supposed to be their statement win. However, their whole night’s work was ruined by the Vice City, who clawed their way to a second straight win on the road. And it probably wouldn’t have happened if the Celtics forward hadn’t butt heads with Jimmy Butler.
Similar to his matchups against Jrue Holiday, the 33-year-old made him regret trash-talking. Not just that, but some of the NBA fraternity too made sure Williams knew how grave a mistake he had made.
Jimmy Butler destroys Grant Williams and the Celtics in an emphatic Game 2 win
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Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics had all the momentum to win tonight. They had a sizeable lead, great chemistry, and had managed to keep Butler and the Heat at bay for most of the night. The TD Garden was roaring, and they had all the right to be confident. However, in that sense of glory, Grant Williams lost his way. He woke up the beast at the worst time – the fourth quarter.
As he began talking with Jimmy Butler, the Heat star responded with buckets. The 33-year-old scored nine points in the period, the most by any player on the floor. Eventually, Butler’s instincts ran off on his teammates, a storm the Boston Celtics failed to endure. A Gabe Vincent step-back midrange proved to be the ultimate dagger that put away the Celtics.
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As the NBA world watched, many highlighted the face-off between Butler and Williams to be the turning point in the contest. Some of the NBA personalities sent a message to the Celtics forward to ‘never poke the bear’. Analyst Skip Bayless thanked the 24-year-old for waking up Butler in the fourth quarter. “YOU DARED TO TALK TO TRASH TO HIM, GW, AND HE JUST TOOK OUT THE TRASH,” wrote Bayless on Twitter.
THANK YOU, GRANT WILLIAMS, FOR POKING THE PLAYOFF BEAR THAT IS JIMMY BUTLER. YOU DARED TO TALK TO TRASH TO HIM, GW, AND HE JUST TOOK OUT THE TRASH.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 20, 2023
His Finals opponent from last year, Draymond Green also joined the conversation and educated Williams. He believes the Celtics star should know “when to talk and to who” as he watched Butler ‘cook’ him.
Gotta know when to talk and to who…Jimmy cookin Grant. And now he out lol
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) May 20, 2023
Donovan Mitchell is well aware of Grant Williams’ on-court trash talk. During a regular season game, they had an exchange that would ultimately result in a similar outcome. As he watched history repeat itself, the former Utah Jazz star tweeted, “Don?t poke the bear”.
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Don’t poke the bear😂
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) May 20, 2023
The Miami Heat now hold full command in this series. They are up 2-0 without playing a single game in front of their fans. In 447 playoff series, only 33 teams have ever managed to recover from such a deficit. A tedious task awaits the Boston Celtics who want to stay alive in the hunt to get to the Finals.
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Meanwhile, tonight was another chapter of greatness in Jimmy Butler’s playoff endeavors. As the six-time All-Star continues on his quest to win an NBA title, he has validated himself as one of the greatest performers in the postseason.