What Celtics said about Grant Williams trash talk after crucial misses in Cavs loss

CLEVELAND — After a rough February, Grant Williams was setup for a night of redemption for an undermanned Celtics against the Cavaliers on Monday night. The power forward propelled Boston’s strong start with four 3s in the first half and appeared ready to rescue the team from another fourth quarter collapse by drawing a loose ball foul with 0.8 seconds remaining in regulation in a 109-109 game.

Before Williams attempted his first shot at the line, Donovan Mitchell attempted to play some mind games with the Celtics reserve. Williams appeared to say he was going to hit both free throws in response as part of some trash talk from the Cavs delay tactics. But Williams missed both free throws, sending the game into overtime as the Celtics fell 118-114 to the Cavs.

Williams did not speak with reporters after the loss as he exited the locker room before the media was allowed in. His head coach and teammates came to the defense of the 6-foot-6 forward in the wake of Boston’s third straight loss.

Malcolm Brogdon put the onus on the team over Williams for a failure to close things out after the Celtics had an 11-point lead in regulation with just over four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

“Definitely a little deflating,” Brogdon said of the misses. “Those are free throws of course we want to make but that’s something we can avoid getting to that point. We were up 10 or 12 points with three or four minutes left. We shouldn’t have to rely on free throws at the end of the day to win a game like that. We were playing good ball, we just had to close them out and we didn’t.

“Of course he’s going to take it hard but it’s not his fault. His free throws aren’t his fault. Of course, we probably could have won the game with them but it shouldn’t have come to that point. We played a good enough game to close that team out without needing free throws.”

Jaylen Brown had a similar sequence in a Celtics’ loss to the Knicks last month where he missed two free throws that could have ended the game in regulation.

“It happens,” Brown said. “I’ve been in that position before and that’s what should fuel you into being better. You can’t let it be a spirit breaker. Grant has had a great career. The reason why he’s been successful is because of his confidence. And now is one of the moments where his confidence is going to be tested. A lot of people are now seeing some of the adversity he’s going through. And you’ve gotta respond as a man. You’ve gotta be better. You can’t let it take you down. You can look at it and go two different ways. You can go up or you can go down. I want him to go up.”

Joe Mazzulla echoed that confidence in his reserve forward who has seen wide swings in his playing time over the past two weeks, including a DNP-CD against the Cavs last week.

“It’s just part of it,” Mazzulla said. “Grant, the way he is, he’ll bounce back. I have full faith in him. I trust all of our guys at the line in that situation. So, we’re gonna need him to win. We’re gonna need him to be a great team. So, I look at it more as an opportunity. You just have to, at times like this, shift your perspective. What are you gonna focus on?”

Williams and the Celtics will have their next chance to bounce back from their season-long three-game losing streak on Wednesday night when they return to Boston to host the Blazers.

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