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Grant Williams didn’t score a point in the Celtics’ 114-102 Game 3 win over the 76ers on Friday, but he was involved in one of the most notable plays of the game – and certainly the scariest.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Williams, teammate Jaylen Brown and Philadelphia center Joel Embiid were all chasing after a loose ball. Williams and Brown went down, and Embiid started falling as well. The Sixers big man tried to step over the two Celtics, but instead his right foot landed directly on Williams’ head, smashing his face into the hardwood court.
Williams came up bloody, but after some quick repairs on the bench, he amazingly returned to the game after missing just a minute of action.
“I’m a little crazy. So I’ll be fine,” Williams told reporters after the game.
While Williams didn’t score Friday night, he did play 23 minutes and was once again tasked with the difficult job of guarding Embiid, the newly-crowned NBA MVP, for much of that time. It’s that assignment that highlights Williams’ value and that has earned him more playing time.
Williams has played 26 minutes per game in the two games Embiid has played this series, after playing just four minutes in Game 1 (with no Embiid) and appearing in just three of six games against Atlanta in the first round.
That has been the story of Williams’ season in some ways. He has not always been a regular part of coach Joe Mazzulla’s rotation, especially in the second half of the season, but he has generally remained ready to step up when called upon.
While Williams is still the subject of a good amount of ribbing from his teammates, they also recognize and appreciate the way he has adapted and embraced his changing role.
“Grant has been great. Grant has been humble all year long,” Brown said Friday night. “It’s been tough on him. He’s a tremendous part of our team. We’ve challenged him in different ways. His maturity level, his ability to play his role, his ability to raise his level and get stops and do what is needed to be done, regardless sometimes of his emotions and his feelings, it’s like, you can’t ask for anything better than that, man.
“Grant is a true professional. To not maybe play a lot last series and now to play more this series and accept that challenge and put his life on the line for it – you see him get his head smashed into the court and get back up with a smile on his face – that’s Grant Williams.”
Brown got an up-close view of the “curb stomp,” and couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“I saw Grant get his head stepped on by a 300-pound individual. To see that live was crazy,” he said. “I saw it in real time. Probably the craziest thing I’ve seen on the basketball court.”
Williams and Embiid will continue to battle for the remainder of this second-round series, but Embiid did make sure to check on Williams when he checked back into Game 3, and Williams clearly wasn't holding any grudges over the ugly accident.
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