Jaylen Brown answered multiple questions in massive Celtics-Magic Game 2

BOSTON — Jaylen Brown drained back-to-back threes to open the third quarter in the Celtics’ 109-100 win against the Magic.

Amid the barrage of three-pointers, he could have kept shooting.

Instead, he passed up a couple of clean looks, opted to find open teammates, and made correct read after correct read, helping get Derrick White (17 points, 5 assists) and Al Horford (9 points, 10 rebounds) get going too.

Brown finished the game with 36 points (12-19 FG), 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. He hit 5 of 7 three-point attempts and 7 of 8 free throws.

The performance was particularly crucial because, for the first time since Jayson Tatum was drafted in 2017, he was sidelined for a playoff game. Tatum was listed as doubtful after suffering a right wrist bone bruise in Game 1, and was officially ruled out about 45 minutes before tip-off.

So, Brown stepped up.

“Obviously, JT is the offensive leader, and we play off of him,” Brown said. “But any given night I can rise to the occasion.”

For Joe Mazzulla, Brown’s big-time performance was no surprise.

“At the end of the day, he’s willing to do whatever it takes for us to win,” said the Celtics coach. “And he didn’t come in saying he had to get 36 and 10, he came in and said, ‘I’m going to do whatever it takes to win.’ And that’s what he told me yesterday. That’s just the mindset that he has.”

When asked about that conversation by reporters, Brown downplayed its uniqueness.

“It’s the playoffs. What am I supposed to say, something different?” he said, later elaborating: “It’s the playoffs. It’s win or go home. We’ve got a lot of people that are cheering for us, a lot of people around the organization who put a lot of energy and effort in every single night. It’s whatever it takes.”

Jaylen Brown exhibits ‘warrior mindset’ in the win

For weeks, speculation ran rampant regarding whether Brown would be ready for the postseason. He began missing time for a nagging right knee injury before the All-Star break, an injury that was ultimately diagnosed as a bone bruise.

Rather than sit out for most of March and recover from that injury, Brown opted to play, a decision that drew questions from media and fans alike. Brown maintained that his decision to play was not rooted in his chasing accolades. That seemed to be confirmed when he ended up playing in 63 games, finishing the year two games short of the 65-game minimum required to be eligible for All-NBA.

Earlier in April, Brown shared he was learning to adjust his game to be effective in spite of a compromised knee. He studied film of Celtics legend Paul Pierce and upped his shooting efficiency.

It was a process he ultimately found rewarding: “I learned that I have a lot of skill,” he said earlier this month. “My skill level is high.”

Brown ultimately sat out the final three games of the regular season and subsequently received injections in his knee to “promote healing”, ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne reported.

And, it’s still early days, but Brown’s unique recovery process seemed to have worked. Mazzulla never lost faith in it, even when routinely pressed about whether Brown should simply not play in the final weeks of the season.

“You just trust the mindset and, really, the warrior mentality that he has,” Mazzulla said. “He knows his mind, he knows his body, and he can take it to another level mentally and physically. And tonight, he did that for the team on both ends of the floor.”

The other question Brown’s Game 2 performance answered? Whether the team could sustain the absence of Tatum against this Magic team, at least for now.

The scoring was consistent throughout; Brown poured in 12 in the first quarter and 14 in the third. In the fourth quarter, he went a perfect 5-5 from the field, recording a game-high 13 points.

“They couldn’t stop him,” said Payton Pritchard. “And we needed it tonight.”

Kristaps Porzingis spoke to Brown’s mentality after the game.

“He always transmits this kind of energy,” Porzingis said. “He’s willing to leave it all out there for the team and sacrifice himself, his body, for the game. Everybody respects that.”

“There’s no challenge big enough for him. Like, he can do whatever. He’s just going to keep taking care of [the knee] and keep playing the same way, and we’re going to be happy.”

When asked to elaborate about his warrior mindset, Brown repeated his often-repeated mantra postgame: Faith, Consistency, Hard Work Pays Off.

“It’s something I live by.”

In the victory, Brown became the second Celtic in franchise history to finish with at least 35 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 threes in a playoff game, joining Jayson Tatum.

“My first interview with Boston, I said I was going to go to war for the city,” Brown said. “I don’t think nothing has changed.”

“Whatever it takes, every single night, leave it out there, and you hope for the best.”