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Jaylen Brown’s Two-Word Response to Controversial Gesture vs Pistons

Jaylen Brown hit the Pistons with a throat slash.
Justin Grasso|
Dec 4, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) reaches for a loose ball against the Detroit Pistons during the third quarter at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Dec 4, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) reaches for a loose ball against the Detroit Pistons during the third quarter at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

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Wednesday night’s battle between the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons had plenty of juice involved. Coming off of a disappointing loss in an NBA Cup game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pistons knew they needed to come with better energy as they faced a rested championship-caliber squad in Boston.

The Pistons felt energized early on as their star guard, Cade Cunningham, threw down a poster dunk on Boston’s Derrick White that went viral on social media.

Not too long after, Celtics star forward Jaylen Brown muscled his way through a dunk of his own against a well-known rim protector in Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart.

After Brown’s dunk, the NBA All-Star did a throat-slash celebration. Considering it’s a controversial celebration, Brown made it clear he expects to get a message from the NBA because of it.

“I asked Jaylen Brown if he expects to hear from the league after the throat slash gesture,” Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn wrote on social media. The response? “Oh Yeah.”

Brown would later acknowledge his back and forth with action with Stewart throughout the game. While the celebration might’ve gone just a tad too far, Brown made it clear he was focused throughout the matchup despite the chipiness going down.

“I feel like he’s always doing stuff like [pushing],” Brown said regarding Stewart. “I think that is how he plays the game. My focus is on coming out, running offense, getting our team in the right positions. I didn’t want to get distracted, but there was definitely some going back and forth, and we’re not tolerating that this year from nobody.”

Cunningham’s dunk for the Pistons stole the show for a moment. The veteran guard had a solid performance, putting up 27 points, 14 assists, and nine rebounds in 33 minutes.

However, the Celtics maintained control of the scoreboard. Boston came away with a ten-point victory. Brown’s contributions were major, as he scored 28 points, six rebounds, and nine assists on Wednesday.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia

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