A frustrating night got even more so on Saturday for Grant Williams.
Williams and the Boston Celtics lost on the road to the rival Golden State Warriors in a game they largely trailed in throughout. Though the Celtics mounted a late comeback and trimmed the Warriors’ lead down from 17 to eight in the fourth quarter, Golden State hit back with baskets on four of their five next possessions to put the game away.
As the Warriors called timeout with 1:52 left and the game decided, Stephen Curry put up a deep practice three-pointer that missed. The ball caromed to the Celtics forward Williams, and he punched it into the stands. Williams was immediately ejected on the spot by referee Scott Foster.
Grant Williams was ejected after punching the ball into the stands. pic.twitter.com/y5pWjekghc
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 11, 2022
Here is another angle of the incident.
Grant Williams got ejected from the game after spiking the ball into the stands 👀 pic.twitter.com/htd9znttyl
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 11, 2022
ESPN rules analyst Steve Javie, a longtime NBA official, explained on the broadcast that “when the ball enters the stands with force like that, it’s an automatic ejection” and that there is “no judgment involved.”
The NBA’s zero-tolerance policy for those kinds of incidents makes perfect sense in the context of keeping fans safe, so Williams’ ejection was deserved. But he was also a bit unlucky there because the ball came right to him, and he only had to guide it bit for it to go flying into the stands, making for an unusual set of circumstances.
While the Celtics are still an NBA-best 21-6 this year, their flat performance against the team that beat them in last year’s Finals was a disappointment. It was even more so for Williams, who really does not like the Warriors.
