In one of the biggest matchups of the season, Jaylen Brown put forth his best effort of the season. But it wasn’t enough to overcome the defending champion Denver Nuggets Thursday night.
Brown logged season-highs of 41 points and 14 rebounds, including a career-high six offensive boards, to go along with four assists, and two steals. He was also plus-five during his 41 minutes of action.
However, the Celtics were minus-11 during Brown’s seven minutes off the court, and that was the difference in their 115-109 loss at Ball Arena. The Nuggets were boosted by a couple of end-of-quarter shots, plus a 30-point triple-double from Nikola Jokic, and they took advantage of Boston’s free-throw-shooting woes (16-of-25 from the line).
Brown became just the fourth player in Celtics history to score more than 40 points in a game while also grabbing at least 14 rebounds and two steals, joining Larry Bird, who accomplished the feat five times, Paul Pierce, and Jayson Tatum, who pulled off the feat less than a month ago in Brooklyn.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, Brown was their only consistent source of offense. He was the lone starter to shoot over 50 percent from the field, where he knocked down 16 of his 29 attempts. His 51 points created, including 10 via assists, accounted for nearly half of the team’s scoring total.
“I thought he answered the bell as far as the offensive physicality, and the ability to get to the free-throw line, and the ability to finish through contact,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Brown’s performance. “That’s the type of physicality that’s needed, and I thought he brought that on both ends of the floor.”
JB’s best example of dominant physicality came early in the second quarter when he tallied four offensive rebounds on one possession before finally making a put-back layup through contact to earn a trip to the free-throw line for a three-point opportunity.
Entering the night, Brown’s career-high in the offensive-rebounding department had been five, and here he collected four in a six-second span. Those were his second, third, fourth, and fifth offensive boards of the night, and then less than two minutes later he grabbed his career-high sixth with 8:46 left in the half.
Brown finished the half with 22 in the scoring column, making him the first Celtic on record to log more than 20 points and more than five offensive rebounds in a half.
On the defensive end, Brown grabbed eight more rebounds and snagged a pair of steals, the second of which was one of his most impressive defensive possessions of the season. With less than a minute remaining and his Celtics trailing by two, Brown picked up Jamal Murray full-court and stayed glued to his hip for the full possession, slipping by a Nikola Jokic screen, before picking Murray’s pocket. This gave the C’s an opportunity to tie or take the lead; however, Jayson Tatum missed a go-ahead 3-point attempt, allowing Denver to close out the game.
That defensive possession will likely be forgotten in the loss, but it’s plays like those that make Brown a deserving candidate for an All-Defense team. He was brilliant on both ends; it just wasn’t enough to stop an otherwise strong defensive effort by the reigning champs.