Jaylen Brown’s elite shooting night helps Celtics take Game 2

Celtics

“One of the best things he’s doing is even if he scores two, three times in a row, the next play is the right play.”

It’s no secret: When Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are both shooting well, the Celtics are virtually unstoppable.

That fact helped Boston bounce back after being embarrassed at home on Thursday and reclaim the series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night.

Brown secured 28 points alongside Tatum, who scored 33 of his own, to seal a 106-93 Game 3 victory on the road.

Joe Mazzulla on Jaylen Brown: “One of the best things he’s doing is even if he scores two, three times in a row, the next play is the right play. It’s not a play for him, it’s a play to make the right one.” pic.twitter.com/T7dKVQ35ap

— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) May 12, 2024

The highest paid player in the NBA in Brown leads the Celtics in scoring this postseason (24.1 points per game). He was a +18 and grabbed nine rebounds, but perhaps his 13-of-17 shooting was his most notable statistic in the win.

Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla discussed how Brown’s playoff performances thus far have positively impacted the Celtics through eight games.

“He’s picking and choosing spots really well,” Mazzulla said postgame. “Picks and chooses spots, picks and chooses matchups, picks and chooses shot selection, and plays with a sense of poise. … One of the best things he’s doing is even if he scores two, three times in a row, the next play is the right play. It’s not a play for him, it’s a play to make the right one.”

Brown hasn’t always been consistent on both ends of the floor in his career, but he seemed to have found his groove in the regular season and has been able to carry it over into the postseason. He averaged 23.0 points in the regular season and owned a 49.9 field goal percentage, the highest mark of his eight-year career.

In these playoffs, Brown’s field goal percentage stands at 55.6 percent. He’s also averaging 6.8 rebounds and nearly one steal per game, which is a testament to the balance he’s found on both ends of the court in 2023-24.

As long as Brown can continue taking the right shots and keep his field goal percentage above 50, the Celtics should continue to find themselves in winning positions.