Early within the third quarter, the Boston Celtics jumped out to a 27-point lead over the New York Knicks. New York didn’t throw within the towel, although. Over the following 8 minutes and 48 seconds, they chipped away, in the end getting Boston’s lead right down to as little as 4 early within the fourth quarter.
After which Jaylen Brown occurred.
Karl-Anthony Cities tried to place Kristaps Porzingis on a poster, however didn’t convert, kicking off a five-on-four fastbreak for Boston. JB obtained the ball at mid-court, and determined to take the ball straight into the tooth of the protection, crossing over Josh Hart and laying it up on the rim over Mikal Bridges.
On the very subsequent possession, Porzingis obtained a very good have a look at a 3 from dead-on, however couldn’t knock it down. Jaylen, crashing from the nook, cleaned up the miss, rebounding it and laying it in inside a single movement.
The Knicks had been seeking to get again on observe after failing to attain on their final two possessions. They had been capable of finding Mikal Bridges within the nook for a very good have a look at a 3, however due to a stable closeout by Derrick White, the shot got here up brief. Brown scooped up the unfastened ball and was off to the races as he made a beeline to the rim. Two Knicks defenders challenged him on the cup, nevertheless it was doubtless two too few. JB was in a position to convert the robust layup, capping off a private 6-0 run. Jaylen went on to attain 5 of the Celtics subsequent eight factors, pushing the result in 20 with just below 4 minutes to go.
He can usually inform when a recreation wants extra toughness, and he’ll at all times be the primary to carry that power, one of many many causes the group seems to him as a frontrunner. He actually introduced it in final evening’s fourth quarter, and on the good time to push Boston’s lead again out of New York’s attain. It was clear Brown was oozing with confidence, a lot in order that he was caught flexing after out-muscling Treasured Achiuwa to tip a rebound over to KP.
On the finish of the primary half, he was sitting at simply 6 factors on 2-7 capturing. He ended the sport with 24 factors due to his scorching 8-14 capturing within the second half. He additionally tacked on 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and a pair of steals throughout the sport.
When JB is locked in, he’s a tough man to cease. His decisiveness and aggressiveness assist him get to the rim at will, and infrequently instances pushed the momentum into Boston’s favor. Sadly for the Knicks, they realized that lesson the arduous approach.
Jaylen was requested postgame about whether or not he will get any motivation from seeing groups like New York attempt to herald wing defenders corresponding to Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby to attempt to comprise him and Jayson Tatum. Brown gave a easy one-word reply: “Completely.” He gave no additional rationalization as to why, saying that it didn’t want one, and clearly was carrying it as a chip on his shoulder.
Jaylen Brown was resounding when requested by @GwashburnGlobe about whether or not it’s motivating to see opposing groups signal guys like Mikel Bridges and OG Anunoby with the aim of defending him and Jayson Tatum:
“Completely.” pic.twitter.com/0yiDd2Hpyo
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) February 23, 2025
Joe Mazzulla gave some extra perception into what he sees from Jaylen in video games like tonight and famous that the sport wasn’t going JB’s approach at first, however “he did an amazing job simply preventing via.” Mazzulla talked about Brown’s skill to transcend the scoring by locking in defensively, getting steals and deflections, and operating in transition, all nice indicators of his aggressiveness. Jaylen can flip the change at any time, and it’s going to be one in all Boston’s most respected weapons come playoff time.
