INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown tied a career high Saturday with 50 points on a blistering 18-of-26 shooting night in the team’s 146-115 blowout victory to halt the LA Clippers’ six-game winning streak.
Brown received a standing ovation from the large contingent of Celtics fans who ventured out on a rainy evening in Los Angeles to watch the surging Celtics finish up a five-game trip. Boston (22-12) is a half-game behind the New York Knicks (23-12) for second place in the Eastern Conference.
“I knew before the game,” Brown said after being asked when he felt he had found his rhythm and could have a big outing. “In warmups, I could just feel like every shot, the ball was coming off my hand super clean. My footwork felt great. I did salsa last night. Had some great salsa classes. So I felt good as soon as I walked into the arena.”
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Brown took the lead in defending Kawhi Leonard, who had averaged 39 points on nearly 70% shooting during the Clippers’ win streak. On Saturday night, Brown and the Celtics held Leonard to a more pedestrian 22 points on 6-for-17 shooting (35.3%).
“I seek those challenges,” Brown said. “I feel like it brings the most out of me. Obviously Kawhi is one of the greats, so I wanted to start on him. And I just seek those matchups. I like when my back is against the wall. When people doubt, it fuels me. So even though it’d be nice to get some respect … keep it up. I definitely use it as fuel.”
Brown publicly was disappointed at not receiving the Eastern Conference Player of the Month Award in December. He tweeted “smh” when the league announced that New York’s Jalen Brunson had garnered that honor then subsequently addressed it on his live stream. Brown led Brunson in most major statistical categories except assists in December. The Celtics also beat the Knicks head-to-head and finished 9-3 for the month, while New York went 10-4. However, Brunson led New York to the NBA Cup championship in December.
Whatever the reason for the nod to Brunson, Brown was using it as motivation.
“I believe I’m the best two-way player in the world,” he said, “so I just wanted to come out and show it.”
