Celtics’ Jayson Tatum had funny reaction to Grant Williams’ stealing his move

As the Celtics kept piling on the points against the Suns — getting it all the way up to 45 points on multiple occasions — there were multiple reasons for the visitors to celebrate. It was an impressive showing from the best team in the league as the Celtics went into Phoenix and beat up the Suns 125-98.

Multiple role players stepped up all night for the Celtics as the bench transformed the game in the first quarter. That’s why the C’s are so dangerous as they have multiple players who can step up. That included Grant Williams, who finished with 14 points and six rebounds on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting Wednesday.

But it was Williams’ celebration that drew some attention midway through the second quarter. Williams copied Jayson Tatum’s “kiss of death” celebration that the Celtics star has become well-known for recently. It often comes after a made 3-pointer, and Williams wanted to give the move a try.

Tatum said he was fine with Williams doing the celebration, but the issue was the way Williams ddi it.

“He was too excited; he was too hype,” Tatum said. “He was jumping. I was like, ‘Grant, it’s still second quarter.’ So I pulled him to the side and I was like, ‘Yo, you can do it, but I’m cool when I do it. I look cool. You didn’t look cool; you’re like a kid.’ I told him, act like you’ve been here before. When you celebrate, act like it’s normal, not like it’s the first time you’ve done it.”

So it ended up being that Williams was maybe not ready to pull out the celebration. Tatum started putting together the kiss sometime last season, when the 3-pointers came in bunches for the All-NBA star. To be fair to both Williams and Tatum, Jaylen Brown did claim last season that Tatum stole the move from him to begin with.

It’s become a sort of patented celebration as Tatum keeps hitting 3s while the MVP hype follows him. But perhaps Williams throws out the celebration again.

As long as the Celtics keep winning, the vibes should still be great around the team. Tatum said he doesn’t want to overreact to one game, but the Celtics added onto their league-best 21-5 record Wednesday. Williams and the other role players get a ton of credit as the supporting cast that helps Boston pick up victories.

“The goal is still the same: to get back to the Finals and get over that hump,” Tatum said. “While we’re having fun and happy with the way we’re playing, nobody in that locker room is celebrating or satisfied with where we’re at. None of this means anything if we don’t hang a banner. That’s the ultimate goal.”

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