Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 30 points and led five Celtics players in double figures — which wasn’t enough to withstand Joel Embiid (41 points) and the Philadelphia 76ers’ game-clinching 13-3 run that pushed the Sixers’ lead to four with only 12 seconds left to play.
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In the end, Philadelphia topped Boston 108-103. Brown’s 3-pointer — which granted the Celtics a seven-point lead (97-90) with 4:14 left in the game — found the bottom of the net just before Philly’s game-defining run.
Jaylen Brown’s 4th quarter 3 was the 600th of NBA career.
He’s the 7th Celtic to hit that milestone.
Jaylen Brown: ‘Everybody’s Dealing with Something’
After the game, reporters asked Jaylen about his health and overall performance. The 2021 All-Star was both transparent and snarky to his second line of questioning.
How are you feeling physically? Locked on Celtics Podcast host, John Karalis asked.
“I’m getting there. This is my third game in four days; my body is getting back to the point where it was before the season,” Brown replied after Monday’s loss. “It would feel a lot better with a win today. But, most importantly, just staying on course, trying to get this team on track, trying to win some games, and trying to play good basketball that I know we’re capable of. Today, we fell short. But, we got another opportunity, I guess, on Wednesday in the middle of everything that’s going on and off the court.
“Everybody’s dealing with something. We got to be able to adjust and still come up on top. This is a game that we definitely wish we could have back.”
Karalis’ follow-up question was about Jaylen getting blocked at the rim more often than usual and whether or not it’s a testament to Brown still getting his strength back or if it’s just something that’s a credit to Philly’s defense.
“I don’t know how to answer that question,” Brown replied. And after a long silence before the press conference continued.
John Karalis on Jaylen Brown: ‘Something Isn’t Right’
Karalis, who recorded his latest episode of the Locked on Celtics podcast immediately after Monday’s loss, took a moment to reply to Brown’s inability to respond to John’s question.
“What does that mean? Do you not want to say I don’t have the burst that I did? Are you falling behind in that?” Karalis asked in his latest episode of Locked on Celtics. “He came out and looked good, initially, and now it’s like I don’t know. But, three games in four nights? Maybe that’s just tough for him to come back and do that. I don’t want to put too much pressure on a guy coming back from injury. But, it’s very clear that something is not entirely right there.”
It’s also clear that Brown, as one of many Celtics leaders, doesn’t want to show any more vulnerability, especially during these challenging times where Boston is understaffed and once again below .500. However, Jaylen’s scoring is undoubtedly on the up and up, of late, as the 25-year-old standout recovers from the hamstring injury that forced him to miss nearly two weeks.
Since then, Brown’s averaged 23 points while shooting at a 43.8% clip along with 5.5 rebounds, four assists, and 1.7 steals in his previous four outings, per ESPN.com.
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Celtics Star Dismisses Reporter’s Question About His Offense