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Grant Williams and Jimmy Butler got into a bit, during the fourth quarter of the Miami Heat‘s Game 2 win over the Boston Celtics. Williams made a wide-open three, then started jawing at the Heat star.
Butler responded by stepping his game up and scoring nine points for Miami in the last 6:30 of regulation.
Many pinned the back-and-forth as the turning point in a game that looked to be under Boston’s control. Williams was prompted on his decision to “poke the bear,” following Friday’s loss.
“I’m a competitor and I’m gonna battle,” Williams said via NBC Sports Boston. “He got the best of me tonight, and at the end of the day, it’s out of respect, because I’m not gonna run away from it. My mom always taught me, and my dad as well, you get your ass kicked and you don’t come back home until you come battle again. You either come back [and] you die or you come back and go get a win. And I’m not willing to die in this [Eastern Conference] Finals. I’m ready to f****** get a win.”
Williams continued by explaining to the media that he was proud of himself for battling with Butler.
“Because for me, he made some tough shots, I battled, and I’m going to keep battling,” Williams added. “He’s going to have to make every single tough shot the rest of the series, and I’m not going to turn and look otherwise because I respect him as a motherf****** player.”
Heat’s Jimmy Butler ‘Respects’ Grant Williams
Of course, the little run-in with Williams was a focal point of Butler’s postgame availability. Miami’s No. 22 told reporters that he’s all for the fiery competition, even going as far to say that he likes it.
“That’s just competition at its finest,” Butler said via the House of Highlights YouTube channel. “He hit a big shot. Started talking to me; I like that. I’m all for that. It makes me key in a lot more. It pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does. When people talk to me, I’m like, OK, I know I’m a decent player, if you want to talk to me out of everybody that you can talk to.”
The 33-year-old then went on to say there’s no beef between him and Williams, and that he respects the fourth-year forward.
“But it’s just competition. I do respect him, though. He’s a big part of what they try to do. He switches. He can shoot the ball. I just don’t know if I’m the best person to talk to.”
ESPN Continues to Disrespect Heat
Prior to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, ESPN gave the Heat just a 3% chance to advance past Boston. Miami responded by winning each of the first two meetings at TD Garden, taking a 2-0 lead back to South Beach.
The Worldwide Leader was essentially unmoved. Miami’s impressive showing in Boston only boosted their chances of making the NBA Finals by 32%.
SportsCenter’s Twitter account shared a graphic on Saturday morning, showing the Heat as having a 35% chance to beat the Celtics in this series.
While history can sometimes mean nothing, no lower seed that’s won the first two games on the road has ever lost in the Eastern Conference Finals, winning all 15 times.
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