Grant Williams was on the losing end of a Jimmy Butler clinic, but he has no regrets about poking the bear

© Jim Davis/Globe Staff Grant Williams (left) and Jimmy Butler went nose to nose in the fourth quarter, both earning technical fouls.

Grant Williams has no regrets about his fiery interactions with Heat star Jimmy Butler down the stretch Friday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

“For me, I’m a competitor,” Williams said. “I’m going to battle. He got the best of me tonight. At the end of the day, it’s out of respect. I’m not going to run away from it.”

With six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Williams hit a 3-pointer to extend Boston’s lead to 9. After the basket, Williams and Butler exchanged words on their way down the court. But the tension escalated on the next possession, when Butler, defended by Williams, earned an and-1 opportunity. The pair jawed at each other following the whistle, before getting separated and earning technical fouls.

The exchange seemed to ignite Butler, who proceeded to attack Williams on each of his subsequent baskets. After Butler scored next, he motioned that Williams was too little to guard him. And, as the Heat inched their way back into the game, Butler continued to pick on Williams in their one-on-one matchups.

When Butler scored his 9th point of the quarter, coach Joe Mazzulla yanked Williams for Malcolm Brogdon. But the damage was already done. By the time of the substitution, Miami led 102-100 with 2:19 remaining.

After the Heat held on to take a 2-0 series lead with their 111-105 victory, Williams said he didn’t think about the possibility that his actions motivated Butler.

“You expect to beat the best,” Williams said. “No matter if I lit him up or not, he’s going to do that. For me, it’s just a matter of understanding that, ‘Sure, you did poke a bear.’ Quote, un-quote. But how are you going to respond?”

Moving forward, Williams expressed an eagerness for a rematch against Butler.

“He’s going to have to continue to make every single tough shot the rest of this series,” he said. “I’m not going to turn and look otherwise because I respect him as an [expletive] player.”

Mazzulla didn’t seem to take issue with Williams’s conduct, meaning, given his other positive contributions Friday, it seems likely Williams will maintain a role in Game 3.

“I mean, he didn’t do anything wrong,” Mazzulla said. “I don’t think it’s emotions getting the best of him.”

The absence of Grant Williams in the Celtics’ playoff rotation is hard to figure

Prior to the interaction with Butler, Williams gave the Celtics strong production in his first action of the series. He logged 25 minutes off the bench, and made 4 of his 6 baskets for 9 points.

If Williams does continue to play, he sounded ready to help the Celtics earn a win in Miami. The team will likely need his intensity.

“My mom and dad always taught me, ‘You get your ass kicked, you don’t come back home until you come to battle again. You either come back before you die or you go back and you go get a win,’ ” Williams said. “And I’m not willing to die in this finals. I’m ready to [expletive] get a win.”