Key Highlights
- Jaylen Brown dropped 22 factors, six rebounds, three steals, three blocks and two assists within the Boston Celtics‘ Recreation 1 rout of the Dallas Mavericks
- Brown served as Luka Doncic‘s main defender and compelled two turnovers towards him
- The Celtics outscored Dallas by 12 factors throughout Brown’s 37 minutes
Recreation 1 required mere seconds for Jaylen Brown to announce himself. To clarify he could be the preeminent star of the night. To implement he was prepared and keen for an additional crack at hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy. To showcase the expansion propelling him to new ranges this season.
After Al Horford received the tip and guided the ball towards Brown, Kyrie Irving snuck behind him and jarred it unfastened. Brown instantaneously dove to the ground (a recurring theme for him on this one), beat out Irving for possession, and whipped a go to Derrick White.
Twenty seconds later, Horford shot-faked, drove and packed residence a dunk for the opening factors of the night time — an evening outlined by Brown’s multifaceted stardom. All through 37 minutes, the 6-foot-6 wing poured in a team-high 22 factors (65.3 p.c true taking pictures), six boards, three steals, three blocks and two assists.
He started most possessions guarding Luka Doncic, often earlier than the half-court line. He sought out Doncic on switches to power him into area and ignite driving alternatives. He discovered open teammates when assist collapsed. He plugged gaps as an off-ball defender.
Halfway by way of the third, Doncic rainbowed in a pull-up triple and trimmed Boston’s result in eight — the results of Brown ducking beneath a display towards him and being sluggish to reconnect. Over the next 5 minutes, Brown scored eight factors, swatted three pictures, drew two fouls, logged an help and snagged a rebound. Boston’s lead ballooned from eight to 22.
All through his profession, he’s authored far gaudier scoring performances. However given the gravity of Thursday and his well-rounded signature, it might have been his most spectacular. There was no one higher on the ground than him, and, frankly, it was not all that shut — his solely rival the shot-making and rim safety of Kristaps Porzingis‘ busy 21 minutes.
Brown’s outing illuminated his steadfast strengths: early offense scoring, mismatch attacking, and on-ball chops defensively. It additionally spotlighted his growth: passing imaginative and prescient, on-ball decision-making, off-ball consciousness defensively, and display navigation.
For a participant whose flaws have typically appeared so obtrusive to distinction his clear, particular superlatives, Recreation 1 deviated from that — a summation of the small leaps he’s loved this season to grow to be a notably improved participant.
The arrival of Porzingis and Jrue Vacation undoubtedly vaulted Boston from the excellent group of years previous to the juggernaut of 2023-24, a 77-20 squad that has been the league’s finest for practically eight months now. But Brown’s growth has been equally important. He’s refined a handful of areas sufficient that they’ve coalesced to render him a extra full star, now not saddled by inflexible (albeit, vital) avenues by way of which to determine his mark.
From the leap, he defended Doncic. He refused to lunge at fakes, constructed excessive pick-up factors, disrupted any likelihood of an early offense circulate, and supplied a buffer to stop the good star from hurling the Celtics protection into rotation. Their switch-heavy scheme meant he wasn’t chasing Doncic round all recreation, however did so sufficient to go away a dent.
Doncic’s particular person manufacturing — 30 factors, 10 rebounds, two steals — popped. However Brown’s point-of-attack efforts have been instrumental in curbing his holistic affect (one help, 4 turnovers, 5 free throw makes an attempt). Dallas’ offensive ranking was simply 95.9 with Doncic on the ground. Whereas that’s not all about Boston and Brown’s execution, it speaks partly to their work.
The Mavericks additionally entered Thursday averaging 3.2 alley-oops per playoff recreation. They didn’t have any in Recreation 1. Brown’s rim safety contributed to that. Between the on-ball feistiness and off-ball attentiveness, it was probably the greatest all-around defensive video games of his NBA tenure. He introduced such crucial focus and self-discipline — an amped-up, dialed-in ethos with out the recklessness typically stemming from such bottled vitality.
As a scorer, Brown was selective. He tried solely 12 pictures and drilled seven of them. Even so, the tempo on his drives and method through which he arrange his strikes have been pristine. Conscious of how one can navigate Dallas’ inside measurement and assist, he wielded management downhill. Doncic was an early and frequent goal for Boston’s offense on switches and Brown took benefit a couple of instances.
Late within the third, he dotted a pull-up triple over Daniel Gafford‘s tardy limbs and kicked off the fourth with a whirling dervish end inside. These buckets punctuated his second half surge, a five-minute knockout guaranteeing the Mavericks’ comeback wouldn’t be seen by way of to completion.
Had been Brown not mired in a chronic free-throw funk (61.9 p.c within the playoffs, 72 p.c for his profession) and gone 6-of-11 on the line, his scoring would’ve perked up. Regardless, his slashing proved integral — a bruising, jackknife type to enrich the swirling, loping size of Tatum’s driving.
Within the third quarter, Dereck Full of life II‘s defensive versatility and rim deterrence posed some points for Boston’s offense. So, throughout a 75-second span, Brown, with intrepid savvy, twice exploded to the rim and drew a pair of fouls towards the rookie middle. The second was his fifth of the sport and prompted him to the pine. Full of life’s exit slid Kleber as much as middle and shortly after, Gafford re-entered the competition.
Full of life is Dallas’ finest huge, particularly defensively. Throughout his six-minute stint within the third, the Celtics scored 11 factors. As soon as he sat, they scored 25 over a 9.5-minute interval earlier than head coach Jason Kidd subbed out Doncic and Irving, and emptied the bench down 100-75. Brown’s aggression helped key that.
The Mavericks’ defensive all the time desires to take care of a presence on the rim, ideally an enormous. That philosophy has pushed their success by way of three rounds as a result of each opponent has both lacked the spacing or playmaking panache (or each) to punish them.
The Celtics, nevertheless, characterize a very completely different problem: a reliable five-out offense with the requisite spacing, ball motion and connective passing to flourish. In Recreation 1, Brown sat central to this completely different problem confronting Dallas.
Amongst his most prevalent factors of maturation is kickout passing. If there’s nothing brewing inside as a driver, he’s a lot extra wired to sling reads to the perimeter or towards different launch valves (a la when Boston slots somebody within the dunker spot).
In comparison with prior years, no in style playmaking proxy — help price, assists per 100 possessions, potential assists — seize this leap effectively. However Brown merely operates with newfound persistence and composure when Plan A is eradicated or the protection sends further our bodies his path.
Dallas desires to bathroom down the paint and gauge gamers’ on-the-fly decision-making. Brown fortunately accepted their method and set the desk for quite a few high quality appears. Three assists undersell his sharp processing.
Recreation 1 was a group effort for Boston. Seven of the eight rotation gamers cobbled collectively moments, stretches or a complete recreation of high-level ball. That’s what’s essential to dismantle an opponent like Dallas. Amid the depth stood Brown. His uncommon blemishes largely occurred on the free-throw line, a spot he earned to enterprise from his personal dominance seconds earlier.
Various elements behind each his resolute excellence and ushering in his best season but converged — a mosaic as to why he’s lengthy been fairly dang good and the way he’s since outgrown that label.
Fueled by all of it, he performed the kind of large recreation a 22-6-3-3-2 line doesn’t correctly convey, which is the surest sentiment of an ideal participant doing nice issues. And, boy, did Brown do nice issues Thursday night time.