Jayson Tatum Discusses Celtics’ Unity: ‘15 Brothers’

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 60 points again as the Boston Celtics took care of both games on the road to go up 3-1, handling the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 109-102 win on Monday night.

The Cavaliers came back to take the lead in the second half, but another dominant response from Tatum , who delivered a 33-point, 11-rebound performance, with five assists was too much for Cleveland to overcome. It was his 12th career postseason game producing at least those statistics, moving him into eighth all-time.

Jrue Holiday took control again as well with some commanding plays on both ends. He registered another 16-point, seven-rebound, and five-assist outing, with a block and three steals, shooting 6/11 from the field, and 4/8 from three.

Holiday also had some emphatic blocks, most notably, a couple in a row to end the first half. He gave Darius Garland trouble with his defensive prowess. The imprint Holiday has left on the Celtics’ defense all season long in a partnership that many would have never imagined is one of the most fascinating storylines to Boston’s championship run.

Without Donovan Mitchell, sidelined by a left calf strain, Cleveland got 30 points from Garland. Max Strus hit five threes in the first half, and Caris LeVert had another good scoring game with 19 points. But the Celtics, led by their dynamic wing tandem, were once again too much to overcome.

Brown has averaged 26.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in his last five games shooting 60 percent from the field and 36 from three. There was a viral clip of Brown mic’d up, giving the perfect display and representation of Brown’s emotional and vocal leadership this season. He kept telling Tatum in Game 3 to not listen to the outsiders, reminding him that he is Big Deuce.

“Tell them to stop playing with you. I’m big deuce!” 😤

Jaylen Brown hyping up Jayson Tatum 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/5DSUwXKDI0
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 12, 2024

“You guys got a screenshot of what it’s like being on a team,” Tatum said. “It’s like having 15 brothers. We spent so much time with each other from preseason to offseason till now, nine months later, 90-some-odd games. We’re there for each other.

"Even the most tough, mentally strong person can use some encouragement sometimes from your teammates. [He was] just letting me he’s got my back, and vice versa. The rest of the guys, we have talks like that all the time. You guys got to see it because he had a mic on. It just shows the togetherness of this team.”

The Celtics will look to finish the Cavaliers in a second straight five-game series on Wednesday. Boston would advance to its sixth Eastern Conference Finals in eight years.

Further Reading

Simple Changes Spark Stifling Second Half Defense in Celtics' Game 4 Win vs. Cavs

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown Still Shaking Off Criticism While Growing as Leaders

Jrue Holiday Delivers 'Masterclass' in Game 3 Win vs. Cavs

Jayson Tatum Breaks Out of Scoring Slump That Never Defined Him: 'Underappreciated'

Celtics Discuss 'Unacceptable Performance' in Game 2 Loss to Cavs

Derrick White Discusses Joining Elite Company in Game 1 Win vs. Cavaliers

Jaylen Brown Leads Celtics to Tone-Setting Win in Game 1 vs. Cavaliers

Kristaps Porzingis Discusses Target Date to Rejoin Celtics' Playoff Run: 'Doing Everything I Can'