Grant Williams suspended one game after altercation with referee
Williams will miss a game for "recklessly making contact" with official Cheryl Flores.
Celtics forward Grant Williams will be suspended for one game after running into official Cheryl Flores on Monday, the NBA announced on Wednesday.
Williams was ejected from Monday’s 120-102 loss in the second half. The Celtics appeared frustrated for much of the game as the Bulls whittled away at their lead after a hot start, and Williams in particular spent much of the second half barking at officials. After one sequence that left him particularly frustrated, Williams was whistled for a blocking foul, and he hopped up and bumped into Flores as he ran toward the bench in disbelief. After he was ejected, he appeared to yell a profanity at Flores as he walked off the floor.
Per the league, Williams was ejected for “recklessly making contact” with Flores, as well as “directing inappropriate language toward a game official.”
Here’s a look at the play.
After the game, crew chief Marc Davis spoke to a pool reporter about the incident.
“After it is correctly judged a blocking foul on Williams, he jumps up and approaches official [Cheryl] Flores and makes intentional physical contact with her and he is ejected as per rule for this sportsmanship act,” Davis said.
Per Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com, who spoke with a witness to the situation, Williams spoke with Celtics VP of Player Development and Organizational Growth Allison Feaster in the hallway outside the locker room after he was ejected.
“She asked him if he touched the referee, and he’s like, ‘I walked toward her and she was backing up, so it wasn’t like intentional. I wasn’t trying to,'” the witness told Bulpett. “He told her, ‘I didn’t say anything. I didn’t say anything.’”
Williams will serve his suspension when the Celtics take on the Cavaliers at TD Garden on Friday.
Joe Mazzulla was also ejected from Wednesday’s game after receiving a pair of technicals. Per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, one of Mazzulla’s technicals will be rescinded by the league.
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