Celtics Game-Breaker: Jaylen Brown hits clutch jumper to sink Mavs in Game 3
Jaylen Brown desperately needed to give the Celtics a big basket, in the biggest of moments. And he delivered.
Brown made the biggest shot of the night for the Celtics in Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals, sinking a mid-range jump shot to put the C’s up by four points with just 1:01 left in regulation. The Mavs had come all the way back from down 21 to cut the deficit to as low as a single point, and suddenly, the Celtics needed a big-time moment, preferably from one of their big-time players.
It was Brown to step up and give finality to a thrilling win.
Brown couldn’t quite break free from Derrick White’s screen attempt, as the Mavs’ Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green converged on him. With no lane to the hoop and only six seconds to shoot, Brown had to go airborne, and finished perhaps the biggest bucket of his career to date.
Brown officially hit 30 points on the night with the basket, making him and Jayson Tatum the first Celtics duo in NBA Finals history to each log at least 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a single game.
That’s a testament to their uncommon wealth of playoff experience at this stage of their careers, and the steady growth they’ve made en route to knocking on the door of their first championship together.
“Experience is the best teacher,” Tatum said after the game. “We learned from our mistakes. We learned from a team at the time that was better than us, that had been there and been over that hump and mentally tougher at the time.
“We’ve grown from that, we really have. It was on display tonight.”
Credit is due to Tatum for a great dunk just two possessions prior, putting the Celtics up six with 2:17 left at the time. It took legitimate strength and toughness for Tatum to finish that play. Overall, it was a much-needed elevation from Tatum to score a team-high 31 points after struggling with his shot over the first two games of the series.
But the Mavs still cut the deficit back down to two after that. The Celtics needed Brown to put that shot through the hoop more than they’ve needed anyone to put it through the hoop all season. So, ultimately, Brown gets the “Game-Breaker” nod for finally popping the balloon for Dallas.
“In those moments, those are the moments which you have to just live for,” Brown said. “We’ve been in those moments a lot. We just needed to be patient, be poised. I feel like we got some good looks. The defensive intensity ramped up. Officiating, you know, got a little bit tighter. So at the end of the day, you’ve just got to make plays. I thought we got some good looks down the line in the fourth. Some went in. Some didn’t.
“But we were able to make plays and find a way to win. And we’ve been in those positions, and we’ve lost. It was great to overcome that with my brother, Jayson, and with our team. That was special.”
It was a special moment for Brown. And he and Tatum are on the verge of cementing these Celtics as a special NBA team.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
Celtics take commanding 3-0 NBA Finals lead over Mavericks after 106-99 win in Game 3
DALLAS, TEXAS – JUNE 12: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics dribbles the ball while being guarded by Tim Hardaway Jr. #10 of the Dallas Mavericks in the second quarter in Game Three of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center on June 12, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
Fourth Quarter:
Jaylen Brown would continue his unbelievable play from the third quarter, drawing an offensive foul and then hitting a 3 pointer to extend Boston’s lead to 88-70. That wasn’t enough for Boston though after another staunch defensive stand Derrick White would hit a 3 of his own to give Boston a 21 point lead 91-70 with 11:06 to go.
With Boston on the brink of a 3-0 series lead Dallas would need it’s best basketball of the season to have any hope of not heading into Friday night’s game on the brink of elimination. Dallas would start to chip away at Boston’s lead with some massive defensive stops and big 3 point shooting from Washington and Green to cut Boston’s lead to 91-80 with 8:23 to go in the game. Jaylen Brown would answer the Dallas run scoring a tough jumper to give Boston a 93-82 lead with 7:45 to go and Dallas clawing it’s way back into the game. PJ Washington would hit a 3 pointer to cap off a 17-2 Dallas run cutting Boston’s lead to just six.
Holiday would foul Kyrie Irving on a 3 point attempt to give Dallas a chance to cut it to a one possession game with 6:21 to go in the game and Boston now clinging to it’s lead. Boston would continue to melt down turning it over on the next possession and getting lucky that Dallas would miss a 3 pointer to tie. Luka would get his 5th foul of the game with 4:38 to go a troubling sign for Mavericks fans with Boston still holding a 93-90 lead. Boston would make a point to attack Luka Doncic on the very next possession and he would foul Jaylen Brown, sending him out of game 3 with his team trailing by 3 on the brink of a 3-0 series deficit. Jason Kidd would challenge the call in an act of desperation but it was to no avail as the challenge was unsuccessful and Luka was out of the game with 4:12 to go.
With Luka out now Boston would heavily defend Kyrie Irving and hope they could contain the Mavericks role players and secure a 3-0 series lead. Tatum would miss another big shot but Jaylen Brown would clean it up and score off an offensive rebound to give the Celtics a 95-92 lead. Jrue Holiday would step up huge again for Boston as he’s done all postseason long drawing an offensive foul on the next possession to give Boston the ball back leading by 3. Boston who had been maligned in the clutch in recent years would continue to make plays with Derrick White who started the game ice cold hitting a massive 3 pointer to extend the Boston lead to 98-92 with just over 2:30 to go in the game.
Boston would take a 4 point lead into the final 2 minutes of the game, the Celtics would miss a 3 pointer and give Dallas a chance to cut it to a one possession game again and they would with a Derrick Lively dunk to make it 100-98 with 1:20 to go in the game. Jaylen Brown who was far and away Boston’s best player in the second half would hit a massive shot to extend Boston’s lead to four, 102-98 a minute to go in the game. Kyrie Irving would go on to miss a massive 3 point shot that would have cut Boston’s lead to one and Derrick White would get fouled on the rebound attempt to all but assure the victory and 3-0 series lead for the Celtics. White would go on to hit both free throws to extend the Celtics lead to six with 22 seconds to go and the Mavericks season hanging on by a thread. Dallas wouldn’t be able to get it any closer as Boston would go on to win 106-99 taking a commanding 3-0 series lead on the brink of banner 18.
