Jaylen Brown rips his former teammate after a controversial foul in the Hornets' win

Jaylen Brown was the victim of a hard foul from Grant Williams last season in his first duel with his former teammate. A year later, he didn't hold back when asked about Williams sending off Jayson Tatum for two flagrant fouls in the Celtics' 124-109 win over the Hornets on Friday night, leading to his ejection.

“I don’t know what it was about,” Brown told reporters in Charlotte. “I think that spoke for itself. I don't know if Grant missed JT or I don't know what it was, but it wasn't a basketball player. Grant knows better.”

Williams tried to defend his foul after the game, noting that he didn't mean to intentionally hurt Tatum afterward with 2:02 left in the fourth quarter. The play was originally called a common foul, but was upgraded to a flagrant 2 after a video review.

• BET: Check out ours MA Sports Betting Guidewhere you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.

“It was a transition opportunity and I tried to pass the ball,” Williams said, via CLNS Media. “I reached across his body. If you slow down the playback it looks like I'm doing the game and just trying to follow it. JT is one of my closest friends in the league. This is not intentional.”

Brown didn't believe that explanation after the game.

“It was definitely intentional,” Brown explained. “What are we talking about? Will you all see the same piece? He hit him like it was a football game, like Ray Lewis was coming up the middle or something. It is what it is. Grant knows better.”

Brown was one of the more vocal Celtics after the foul sequence and had to be restrained as he yelled at Williams while assistant Tony Dobbins escorted him back to the bench.

“It’s just us fighting the world,” Brown explained his mentality to reporters. “As a leader, I drive for all my guys in the locker room. And teams like to send messages and try to set the tone and do all sorts of things to either throw us out of character or mess with our minds or make us feel like we're being soft or whatever the case may be , (and) we're not going to do any of that.”

The Celtics will get a chance for revenge against Williams and the Hornets on Saturday night in a rematch at Spectrum Center.

“Actions speak loudly, so it is what it is,” Brown said. “We got the win, we’re moving forward, but there’s no room for that in the game. I thought JT and Grant were friends. I do not think so.”