BOSTON – Jaylen Brown opened the second round of the playoffs just like he opened Round 1: in attack mode right from the opening tip.
The All-Star wing scored nine of Boston’s first 12 points and 15 overall in the opening 7:19 of Tuesday night’s matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, setting the tone for a 32-point personal outing as part of a 120-95 Celtics win.
Brown was aggressive just about every time he touched the ball, driving to the paint with force and creating scoring opportunities for both himself and his teammates. He shot 12-of-18 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, while also knocking down all four of his free-throw attempts.
“He was in a great mode tonight, a great rhythm,” said Jayson Tatum. “He was making timely plays when maybe they were about to go on a run, so he was hitting big shots.”
You could tell how much of a rhythm Brown was in when he knocked down his third triple of the night early in the fourth quarter and started backpedaling toward the other basket before the ball reached the net.
His being in an unstoppable zone forced Cleveland to put extra attention on his drives, which opened things up for the rest of the team. Many reaped the benefits, such as Derrick White, who scored 25 points while knocking down seven 3-pointers.
“He’s unbelievable,” White said of Brown. “Just the things he can do on the court are special. I think he just consistently wants to get better. He had it going, but he was also making the right read and creating stuff for myself and my teammates. So he was unreal tonight. Started the game big for us and just consistently made the right play. And then when he has it going, it’s fun to watch.”
Brown’s ability to consistently make the right play has been a somewhat under-the-radar improvement this season, and one which head coach Joe Mazzulla has appreciated.
“He takes a ton of pride in just growing as a player every year, every game, every day,” Mazzulla said. “He spends a lot of time on it. He’s not afraid to go after something that he knows he can improve on, which I think is huge for his growth mindset. He has evolved. His ability to pick and choose his spots, and when to play in transition; he had a couple of times when he scored in transition, and two plays later he slowed it down, went mid-pick-and-roll, and made the right play. Even if he scores six or eight in a row and he gets into the paint, it’s a pass the next one. So he’s grown as a player, and it’s helped us, and he’s playing big stretches for us. It’s important.”
It's also important for Brown to come out with that same mindset every game, especially in the playoffs when opponents are making constant defensive adjustments.
“I had it rolling tonight, but each and every game presents different challenges,” Brown said. “I'm excited for Game 2. Going to come out with the same mentality. But you gotta see how they might guard, might cover you. You just wanna come out and make the right plays, the right reads – that's all it is.”