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Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams defended his team's fanbase amid criticism during the ongoing NBA Finals.
Williams addressed derogatory chants directed at Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green during the Celtics' 116-100 win in Game 3 at TD Garden -- which Warriors teammate Klay Thompson and head coach Steve Kerr sarcastically deemed "classy" -- while speaking with reporters after the Celtics' practice on Thursday (June 9).
“Not the worst things I’ve heard, I feel like,” Williams said via MassLive.com. “Some of those chants, you just accept. Some people respond to them well, some embrace them; others, they shy away from them.
“I feel like the Garden fans don’t hold back. That’s what I love about them. They’re going to be there for you on the positive side, and they’re going to let you know whether you’re doing the right thing or not. When we were losing last year, they were doing the same thing to us. So we respect it.”
On Wednesday (June 8) night, Green's wife, Hazel Renee, criticized the Boston fans and the NBA following obscene chants directed at her husband during Game 3, which she said her children attended.
"Tough loss tonight BUT in NO WAY, shape or form should fans be allowed to chant obscenities at players!" Renee wrote on her Instagram story. "Are they not human? Is someone standing at your job saying off the wall things to you? The @nba has the audacity to have a whole code of conduct card at every seat about fans and their behavior and how they could be ejected from a game or banned but a whole crowd/section/numerous people get to chant F**k YOU DRAYMOND @money23green or call him a B**** or MF?! And nothing?? Like that's ok?!
"@Warriors fans would NEVER!! My kids were at the game tonight hearing the mess! Very DISGUSTING of you little @celtics fans. Just shameful!"
Green told reporters after the game that he was expecting a hostile atmosphere as the series shifted from San Francisco to Boston for Game 3 and didn't want to give the Celtics fans a reaction.
Point guard Stephen Curry also said it was "par for the course" and "no different tonight" from previous road playoff games.
Kerr and shooting guard Thompson, however, were much more critical of the Boston fans.
"Classy," Kerr said, sarcastically. "Very classy."
"Dropping f-bombs with children in the crowd. Real classy. Good job, Boston," Thompson added, though also claiming that the crowd was not a factor in the Warriors' loss.
The Celtics moved ahead 2-1 in the series with Wednesday's victory and will host the Warriors for Game 4 at TD Garden on Friday (June 10) night.