Celtics forward Grant Williams said he did not have an issue with the antics of the Cavaliers before he missed two potential game-winning free throws in the fourth quarter of Monday’s 114-109 overtime loss.
“I just missed, honestly,” Williams said Wednesday, before the Celtics rolled past the Trail Blazers, 115-93, at the Garden. “It was one of those things that in those moments you focus on nothing besides the shot itself, and I didn’t do a great job of giving myself a chance.”
With the score tied at 109, Payton Pritchard missed a layup and Williams was fouled on a putback attempt with 0.8 seconds left. As Williams stood at the line, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell walked over and had a few words with him. Mitchell later said he told Williams to miss one of the two so they could talk about it on their NBA Players Association call on Thursday. Williams then said three times that he was going to make both shots.
After Williams missed the first, nearly 45 seconds passed before his next attempt, as Cavaliers players feigned confusion in the lane and slowed the pace of the proceedings.
“I felt like I was super locked-in and focused, even the confidence of saying you’ll make them both,” Williams said. “It’s funny, because when you say that and miss both, it’s even funnier. But for me it’s just a matter of understanding that that happens and you can’t beat yourself up too much. All you have to do is prepare for the next game and survive.”
Before the tough finish, Williams appeared to snap out of a shooting slump by drilling four 3-pointers in a row during the second quarter. Though he didn’t play until the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s victory, Williams still found time to fire seven times from distance, hitting two, while collecting five rebounds.
He said he is “super confident” for the rest of the season.
“For me it’s just a matter of letting [shots fly],” Williams said. “You can’t really focus too much on if you’re missing or making. You’ve just got to make sure you’re confident enough to shoot them in the first place. So that’s the next step for me, understanding that you’ve worked on your shot enough where you’ve got to trust that you’re going to make those, or shoot them, no matter if it’s wide open or contested. That’s what the team encourages me to do. And a lot of times I don’t necessarily listen to that advice. So I have to be better at that.”
Robert Williams progressing
After Celtics center Robert Williams strained a hamstring during Boston’s March 3 loss to the Nets, coach Joe Mazzulla indicated Williams would likely be sidelined 7-10 days. He said Wednesday that timeline had not changed, potentially putting Williams on track to return for Monday’s game against the Rockets.
Pritchard missed Wednesday’s game against Portland due to heel pain. He suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of the loss to the Cavaliers. Forward Jayson Tatum, who missed the Cleveland game due to a knee contusion, played 31 minutes Wednesday before sitting out the fourth with the game decided.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.