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NBA bans Boston's Williams one game for bumping referee
Boston Celtics power forward Grant Williams was suspended one game without pay by the NBA on Wednesday for recklessly making contact with and directing inappropriate language toward a game official.
Williams was assessed a technical foul for making contact with a referee and ejected with 8:58 remaining in the fourth quarter of Boston's 120-102 loss at Chicago on Monday.
The Celtics will be without Williams for the suspension on Friday when they play host to Cleveland.
Marc Davis, crew chief for the officials in the Boston-Chicago game, said Williams was correctly whistled for a blocking foul and made intentional physical contact with referee Cheryl Flores, causing him to be ejected.
Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla had already been ejected from the contest.
Williams, 23, averaged career highs of 7.8 points and 3.6 rebounds a game last season in helping the Celtics reach the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors.
Williams is averaging 9.5 points and 4.3 rebounds a game this season for Boston, which is off to a 3-1 start for the 2022-23 season.
O. Petrow--BTZ
