Jaylen Brown Shares Message to Celtics During Game 3 Win vs. Heat

Bobby Krivitsky | Apr 28, 2024

Apr 27, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) takes a shot over Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin. / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday’s Game 3 against the Miami Heat was perhaps the Boston Celtics’ most important game of the season to this point. After all, they had lost home-court advantage to the Heat after dropping Game 2 at TD Garden on Wednesday, and another loss would put Boston in a 1-2 series hole.

With so much at stake, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown delivered a message of togetherness and steadiness in the team’s huddle to ease tensions.

“Make the right play,” Brown said. “This is what we’ve been working hard for our whole season. These moments, just breathe, relax, see the game, trust your teammates, trust each other, and just come out and do what we’ve been doing. It’s just us against the world and we got each other’s back.”

Brown ended up tied with Jayson Tatum for the most points scored by a Celtic in Game 3 with 22 on 11-of-20 shooting from the field.

The 27-year-old impacted the game in other ways outside of scoring, too, considering Brown stuffed the stat sheet with eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block against Miami.

Thanks in large part to the 27-year-old’s all-around performance, the Celtics won Game 3 by 20 points to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Boston’s Game 3 win marked the second time that the team has beaten the Heat by 20 points in this series, which is a rematch of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.

Brown and the Celtics will have an opportunity to increase their series lead to 3-1 with a win over Miami in Game 4 on Monday. NBA teams ahead 3-1 in a playoff series go on to advance 95.4 percent of the time.

Further Reading

'Burned Inside': Kristaps Porzingis Bounces Back from 'Worst Game as a Celtic'

Celtics Right the Wrongs of Game 2 to Take 2-1 Lead Over Heat

Kristaps Porzingis Details How Heat Disrupted Him in Game 2: 'I'll Make Sure I'm Better'

Heat's Historic Shooting Leaves Celtics Contemplating: 'We Gotta Respond'

Heat Outmuscle and Outshoot Celtics, Sending Series to Miami Tied at 2

Celtics Bench Stars in Its Role in Game 1 Win vs. Heat: 'An Identity of Our Team'

Jayson Tatum Discusses First-Career Playoff Triple-Double: 'A Beautiful Game'

Celtics Protect the Parquet in Dominant Display in Game 1 vs. Heat

How do the Heat Adapt Without Jimmy Butler? Joe Mazzulla Weighs in

Brad Stevens Addresses Potential Extension with Derrick White

Celtics Embracing Challenge to Go Beyond Most Talented