Everything Jaylen Brown Said After Boston Celtics Game 3 Win over Philadelphia 76ers

PHILADELPHIA — Jaylen Brown scored 25 points on 9-16 shooting and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line to help power the Boston Celtics 108-100 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3 of their opening-round series. He also had seven rebounds, four assists, and three blocked shots.

Here’s everything he had to say after Game 3, with added analysis from me.

On the Celtics being good in big moments: “I think because we’ve been there before, so no moment is too big. So we’re just big-time players making big-time plays. Big-time shot by Payton [Pritchard], big-time rebound by [Derrick] White, then [Jayson Tatum] finished it off.”

Analysis: Jaylen has played in 138 playoff games since he entered the league in 2016-17. The Sixers have played in 70. So when Brown says he’s been there before, he isn’t lying.

I still think there's an element to Brown’s game that needs to be dialed back (Tatum’s too). I think both Jays are prone to a bad brand of hero ball sometimes, which involves slowing the game down too much while they survey and make decisions. They're great at taking over when they make quick decisions and attack mismatches with decisiveness.

But either way, it’s clear who has played in big moments. Both Brown and Tatum have hit shots with games on the line. There is no fear.

On scoring eight straight points in the fourth quarter: “Yeah, that’s what it comes down to. All your preparation and stuff comes down to those moments. Both teams are tired, your team is maybe offensively in a little bit of a rut, you’ve got to figure out how to get a basket, you’ve got to figure out how to create some momentum for your team, and I feel like I did just enough to shift things in our favor.”

Analysis: This was a great takeover stretch and it highlights exactly what I’m talking about. This was the decisive brand of basketball from a calm superstar that helps the Celtics win games.

On where their poise comes from: “Just our experience definitely helps, I would say, but just being able to be poised, get to our spacing, and make plays from there, I thought we did a good job of that in the final couple of minutes.”

Analysis: Boston’s offense runs best when the gravity of Tatum and Brown is exploited. They need to make individual plays, but they need to make plays for others with how they attack the defense.

On top of that, it takes poise to come up with offensive rebounds and other hustle plays when things don’t go exactly how they’d hoped. The Celtics got Nikola Vucevic open two wide open looks with good ball movement, but those missed and Derrick White got Tatum and Brown chances to finish the job with his rebounding. That's all poise.

On this being a pivotal win: “This was like a Game 7 for us. Even though this is a long series we definitely wanted to come back and respond after dropping one on our home floor. Can’t lose two games in a row in the playoffs, it’s tough. So this was a big win for us.”

Analysis: This is a bit of an overstatement and I’m sure Joe Mazzulla wouldn’t exactly endorse the sentiment. This was not a Game 7 for them because if they lost they would have said something about it being a long series or something similar.

This is a fun insight into how Brown’s mind works versus Mazzulla’s. Brown needs motivation like this. He needs his back against the wall. Mazzulla has talked about loving how Brown’s mind thinks before, but this isn’t how Mazzulla processes a situation like this.

Joe is about staying present, moving forward, and not treating it any differently than any other basketball. To Mazzulla, the best players can play the exact same way in January as they do in June.

On the pregame defensive message: “Just taking the challenge on both side of the ball. Making big plays, winning plays, on both sides of the ball. I think it adds up. That’s what it comes down to in the playoffs.”

Analysis: The Celtics aren’t a rah-rah group. In fact, the NBA isn’t a rah-rah league. After 82 games and playoff games every other day, motivational speeches have to be short and sweet. This isn’t Hoosiers.

On Derrick White’s rebounding: “It’s big. It’s a long playoffs, so I thought he still had a really good game even though his shot didn’t fall as much as he would have liked. But he took some really good shots and made some big-time plays, and that’s what it comes down to. It’s experience. We trust Derrick in those moments and he usually always delivers. So as the playoffs get going he’s gonna find his shot and the water will find it’s level. But all the stuff defensively, what he’s been doing on Maxey, chasing over all those screens, he’s had some great second contests and blocked shots, and then those rebounds at the end of the game. Just winning plays. They add up.”

Analysis: I’ve written about this extensively, so I humbly suggest you read that as my analysis for this quote.

On winning without needing to hit three-pointers: “I think this whole year, we've had to play a different style from the beginning to the end, just because we lost a bunch of players that you know we had an identity with. We had to re-form a new identity. So I think that helped us in moments like now where, obviously we want to get up a lot of shots and threes, but our players also have adapted to finding other ways to win, getting to mid-range shots, getting to the free throw line, offensive rebound. So, in the playoffs, you got to be versatile. It’s not always going to be pretty, but you just got to find a way to get it done.”

Analysis: The Celtics did hit 20 three-pointers in the game, but they are capable of winning without them. The key, though, is making sure the other team isn’t hitting them. Brown, Tatum, White, and Pritchard are all very high-level scorers inside the arc.

On his ankle injury: “It’ll be alright.”

Analysis: He’s not on the injury report, but I can tell you from waking behind him as he went to the postgame podium, he wasn’t moving his best after the game.

But that's after the game. A night of rest, a lot of treatment, and whatever a painkillers guys take to get them through a playoff run will do the trick to get him ready for Game 4.

On Jayson Tatum looking like himself: “Um, yeah, I mean, he's been incrementally getting better and stronger and getting more physical. You can see downhill, he's getting downhill at a higher level than he did when he started. But, we do it as a team. We win as a team and lose as a team. So in those moments, I got nothing but trust for Jayson Tatum. So when it comes down to it, we've been through it, so we just got to make big time plays.”

Analysis: I wrote this in the “Everything Jayson Tatum Said” piece, but it’s worth repeating. I’ll never not be shocked at how well Tatum is recovering. His rehab is the new standard for Achilles injuries.

On passing Bill Russell and Robert Parish for seventh on the Boston Celtics all-time playoff scoring list: “That's awesome. Obviously, it feels great to do that and to win, but nothing but respect for those Celtic legends. Bill Russell and Robert Parish are somebody who I've admired, someone whose legacy will live on forever in Celtic history. So to be in the midst of some of the great Celtic legends and great NBA Legends is an honor.”

Analysis: Brown will get his number retired, and he can start thinking about who will present him at the Hall of Fame (it will be Tracy McGrady). Brown will end up very high on a lot of all-time lists. This is why I’ve already said we have to appreciate the greatness that's in front of us right now. Enjoy the moment.

On treating Game 3 like a Game 7: “Yeah, something you definitely talk about, but something you got to experience, for sure. And I think our team is still a young team, so this experience was great. It's great to get these experiences and win, but like when you get hit, you just got to respond. You can't, if they have a momentum play, or if they go on a run, and just get the ball out and get up the court and try to steal a basket to kind of break the momentum and stuff like that. So you know, most importantly, just stay together through the adversity. But you get hit, you got to hit back.”

Analysis: Containing opponent runs is maybe the most important thing in the playoffs. Allowing a 7-0 run is painful, but it’s three baskets in a row and responding in kind is doable. It’s the 12-0, 15-5, 21-7 runs that ruin games.

They're not impossible to overcome, and how damaging they are also depends on whether those runs have created a lead or closed a gap, but either way, minimizing those will give a team the best chance to win these games.

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