Jaylen Brown and the art of locking in

After New York cut a 27-point lead down to 4 early in the fourth quarter, Brown kicked it into a new gear to push Boston’s lead back to blowout status.

Early in the third quarter, the Boston Celtics jumped out to a 27-point lead over the New York Knicks. New York didn’t throw in the towel, though. Over the next 8 minutes and 48 seconds, they chipped away, ultimately getting Boston’s lead down to as low as 4 early in the fourth quarter.

And then Jaylen Brown happened.

Karl-Anthony Towns tried to put Kristaps Porzingis on a poster, but failed to convert, kicking off a five-on-four fastbreak for Boston. JB got the ball at mid-court, and decided to take the ball straight into the teeth of the defense, crossing over Josh Hart and laying it up at the rim over Mikal Bridges.

On the very next possession, Porzingis got a good look at a three from dead-on, but couldn’t knock it down. Jaylen, crashing from the corner, cleaned up the miss, rebounding it and laying it in within a single motion.

The Knicks were looking to get back on track after failing to score on their last two possessions. They were able to find Mikal Bridges in the corner for a good look at a three, but thanks to a solid closeout by Derrick White, the shot came up short. Brown scooped up the loose ball and was off to the races as he made a beeline to the rim. Two Knicks defenders challenged him at the cup, but it was likely two too few. JB was able to convert the tough layup, capping off a personal 6-0 run. Jaylen went on to score five of the Celtics next eight points, pushing the lead to 20 with just under four minutes to go.

He can often tell when a game needs more toughness, and he’ll always be the first to bring that energy, one of the many reasons the team looks to him as a leader. He certainly brought it in last night’s fourth quarter, and at the perfect time to push Boston’s lead back out of New York’s reach. It was clear Brown was oozing with confidence, so much so that he was caught flexing after out-muscling Precious Achiuwa to tip a rebound over to KP.

At the end of the first half, he was sitting at just 6 points on 2-7 shooting. He ended the game with 24 points thanks to his hot 8-14 shooting in the second half. He also tacked on 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals across the game.

When JB is locked in, he’s a hard man to stop. His decisiveness and aggressiveness help him get to the rim at will, and often times pushed the momentum into Boston’s favor. Unfortunately for the Knicks, they learned that lesson the hard way.

Jaylen was asked postgame about whether he gets any motivation from seeing teams like New York try to bring in wing defenders such as Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby to try to contain him and Jayson Tatum. Brown gave a simple one-word answer: “Absolutely.” He gave no extra explanation as to why, saying that it didn’t need one, and clearly was wearing it as a chip on his shoulder.

Joe Mazzulla gave some more insight into what he sees from Jaylen in games like tonight and noted that the game wasn’t going JB’s way at first, but “he did a tremendous job just fighting through.” Mazzulla mentioned Brown’s ability to go beyond the scoring by locking in defensively, getting steals and deflections, and running in transition, all great indicators of his aggressiveness. Jaylen can flip the switch at any time, and it’s going to be one of Boston’s most valuable weapons come playoff time.