An efficient Brown was unstoppable
His confidence was brimming and the Cavaliers were on the ropes, primed to be vanquished after valiantly battling the Celtics for three-plus quarters. Jaylen brown dribbled the ball up the floor, jab-stepped to force Evan Mobley off balance, then released a stepback 3pointer.
With the ball about three-quarters to the basket, brown turned around and headed back on defense. The ball felt pure coming out of his hands and he was convinced it was a bucket. He was right.
brown’s 3-point flurry in the fourth allowed the Celtics to pull away from the Cavaliers, 120-95, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Celtics led for the final 40 minutes paced by brown, who led boston with 32 points, and Derrick White, who added 25 and seven 3-pointers.
It’s been a postseason in which brown has chosen his spots offensively because of the Celtics’ depth. The Heat focused on containing brown and Jayson Tatum, allowing White a plethora of open looks.
On Tuesday, brown scored 9 of boston’s first 12 points, and first quarters are when brown feasts on defenses. With Tatum usually playing distributor or decoy, brown attacks the rim, relies on his floater, or will gladly accept when teams leave him open at the 3point line.
He has worked feverishly to become a three-level scorer, a player lethal from any spot on the floor. Cleveland lurked in the first three quarters, trailing by double digits but just a quick run away from making it interesting.
With the Celtics leading, 92-77, to begin the fourth, brown began with a floater, then added a pair of 3-pointers during a 13-4 run for a 105-81 lead.
The Celtics’ offense sputtered most of the night, especially from the 3-point line. but with the way their defense was stifling, all they needed was a couple of buckets to take full control.
brown ensured the Cavaliers had no hopes of a fourth-quarter run.
In 34 minutes, brown added 6 rebounds, 2 assists, a blocked shot on Mobley, and had just one turnover. He has become a more efficient player in his eighth season. After being heavily criticized for his careless ball-handling in past playoff runs, brown has made better decisions in the open court, knowing when to attack defenses with his furious drives or when to pull back and wait for his teammates.
“That definitely has been an emphasis for me, being efficient,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of threats on our team with the addition of [Kristaps] Porzingis, the acceleration of Derrick White, that means a lot of guys are going to have it going and have the ball in their hands. So when I get it, I need to be efficient with the opportunities that I have just because of how the game has grown. We have a lot of different guys that can do a lot of different things.
“That’s only empowered us. That’s made us a better team. That’s also made me more efficient. When I get the ball, I want to be as lethal as possible.”
The Celtics won convincingly on a night when Tatum, Al Horford, and Jrue Holiday were a combined 3 for 17 from the 3-point line. They didn’t need a vintage Tatum because brown and White, and 16 points from Payton Pritchard, was plenty.
brown has shown the ability to carry the Celtics offensively when they need buckets. He has feverishly worked on his offensive arsenal and there are nights such as Game 1 when he is unstoppable in stretches, when the three is falling and he uses his craftiness to score contested layups or steps back to launch his midrange jumper.
“He takes a ton of pride in just growing as a player, every year, every game, every day,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He spends a lot of time on it. He’s not afraid to go after something he knows he can improve on, which I think is huge for his growth mind-set. He has evolved. His ability to pick and choose his spots, when to play in transition. He had a couple of times where he scored in transition and two plays later, he slowed it down and went mid pick-and-roll and made the right play.
“I think the growth of him, even if he scores 6 or 8 in a row, when he gets into the paint, [the next one] is a pass. He’s grown as a player and he’s helped us and he’s playing big stretches for us. It’s important.”
It was crucial that the Celtics begin this series by making a statement. Cleveland labored at times to win its seven-game series against the Magic and had just one day of rest before this series began. The Cavaliers’ effort was valiant, but far from sufficient against a Celtics team that’s taking care of its business and relying on its depth to overwhelm lesser opponents.
brown made sure the Celtics jumped out to an early lead with his early dominance and ensured his team would win comfortably, pummeling the Cavaliers with his efficiency and offensive versatility.