Getty Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics.
The Boston Celtics put the San Antonio Spurs to the sword during their March 26 contest, courtesy of another All-NBA-worthy performance from Jaylen Brown.
Since returning from the All-Star break, Brown, 26, has been among the best players in the NBA and showed his credentials once again as he dropped 41 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists on the Spurs while shooting 62.1% from the field during 36 minutes of game time.
After the game, Gregg Popovich credited the Celtics’ performance, name-dropping Brown for being “super” before turning the attention onto his own team’s inability to remain engaged throughout the contest.
“It was a tough one,” Popovich said. “The Celtics played great. Jaylen was super. You know, we played well for about a quarter but after that, I thought we just gave in. Last game on the road, end of the season. I thought we embarrassed ourselves by giving in the way we did, but the Celtics had a lot to do with that.”
Brown has been in the spotlight recently as fans continue to question whether he will remain with the Celtics beyond his current contract, with is scheduled to expire in 2024.
Joe Mazzulla Praises Jaylen Brown’s Performance
On a night when Jayson Tatum was absent from the rotation, Boston needed a big performance from Brown to ensure their current win streak remained alive, and the Georgia native gladly answered the call.
During his postgame press conference, Joe Mazzulla discussed Brown’s improvements this season, sharing his belief that Brown’s ability to both attack and read a defense has been his biggest steps.
“I just think he’s always had the ability to score,” Mazzulla said. “But now he has the ability to break defenses down to understand how the defense is guarding them, to anticipate where the help is coming from, and then to make the right play. And so, to me, his scoring is obviously huge for us. But his decision-making and his reads have gotten a lot better. It’s a credit to him because he works at them every single day.”
Malcolm Brogdon Makes Statement on Jaylen Brown
Mazzulla and Popovich weren’t the only ones to praise Brown’s performance following Boston’s win, as Malcolm Brogdon also used his postgame press conference to praise his teammate’s performance, claiming that Brown is the best shooting guard in the NBA.
“Super high level,” Brogdon said. “He’s the best shooting guard in the league. He’ll be All-NBA. He’ll make one of the teams this year. And, you know, his game really speaks for itself. You know, when JT is out. He’s the No. 1 option. And he’s showing that he can do that. So you know, he’s put in the work. He’s evolved since we came into the league together. He’s involved and taking giant steps forward every year. And he’s, I mean, he’s playing at an extremely high level.”
The Celtics will be back in action on Tuesday, March 28, when they face the Washington Wizards.