Jimmy Butler Addresses Confrontation With Grant Williams in Game 2

Jimmy Butler Addresses Confrontation With Grant Williams in Game 2

Edwin Kiplagat
updated at May 20, 2023 at 10:56 AM
  • Jimmy Butler was in his element in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals
  • The Miami Heat star scored 27 points and hit several clutch shots late in the game against the Boston Celtics
  • Butler also said the confrontation with Celtics forward Grant Williams spurred him

Jimmy Butler was it again in game 2 against the Boston Celtics in the Easte4rn Conference finals.

The Miami Heat star came up clutch in the fourth quarter as his team stole another game on the road to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. Butler's confrontation with Grant Williams grabbed the headlines; it seemed to spur him to lead the Heat to a stunning 111-105 victory.

Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum, Miami heat, Boston Celtics, NBA, Jaylen Brown, Joe Mazzulla, Grant Williams, Erik Spoelstra
Jimmy Butler is averaging 31.1 points in 12 playoff games. Photos by Adam Glanzman and Omar Rawlings.
Source: Getty Images

The confrontation began in the middle of the fourth quarter after Williams sank a three-pointer to give the Celtics a 96-87 lead with 6:37 remaining on the clock. As he was rushing back on defense, he began chirping at Butler, who responded in kind.

He smiled and then hit a shot on Williams, who fouled him. The pair went head to head before getting separated. Both were assessed a technical foul.

From that moment on, the three-time NBA champions went on a 24-9 run which effectively won them the game.

Butler scored nine of his 27 points since his back-and-forth with Williams, per CBS Sports.

Butler reacts to Williams's confrontation

After the game, the 33-year-old said the spat fueled him.

"Yes, it did," Butler said. "But that's just competition at its finest. 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...I just don't know if I'm the best person to talk to," via ESPN.

Williams welcomed the spat.

"I think he said something and I just responded," Williams said. "I'm a competitor and I'm gonna battle. 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."

Bam Adebayo contributed 22 points, 16 rebounds, and nine assists. The Heat bench also stepped up. Caleb Martin was great, notching a playoff career-high with 25 points, while Duncan Robinson added 15 points off the bench.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 34 points but finished the fourth quarter without a field goal.

Celtics vs. Heat Game 2 takeaways

Sports Brief earlier looked at the major talking points from Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The major takeaway was the confrontation between Butler and Williams.

Jaylen Brown's dismal performance was also a hot topic after the game. Brown had 16 points but shot 7-of-23.

Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.