Jaylen Brown showcases full athleticism in Celtics’ Game 2 win over Magic

BOSTON — With 4:18 to play, Jaylen Brown stole the ball at half-court to create a clear lane to the basket, where his athleticism fully displayed to complete an emphatic slam that brought TD Garden patrons to their feet.

Those plays have been demonstrated by Brown before, but a week ago, it perhaps would have been frivolous to even suggest such an occurrence. Brown had missed four games in the final month of the regular season dealing with a knee injury, and even in the games he was available for, his playing time took a significant hit from his 34.3-minute average. Game 1 against the Magic was the first time the Celtics had Brown play at least 30 minutes since March 12.

Brown flashed his usual gifts throughout his 16-point performance on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to quell all the concerns Celtics fans may have had about his health.

Wednesday was certainly enough.

Brown finished with a game-high 36 points on a hyper-efficient 12-of-19 shooting, while grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out five assists to help the Celtics secure a 109-100 victory over the Magic, yielding a 2-0 series advantage as the first round heads to Orlando.

So was a win and notable performance enough for Brown's satisfaction?

“No, why would I?” Brown said. “It's another game to be played.”

Playing time ballooned for Brown, who finished with a 41:40 mark — the first time he eclipsed 40 minutes since March 8 — that included playing the entire first and third quarters and a 45-second rest in the game’s final 12 minutes. An ultra-aggressive offensive approach also aided Brown, as he finished with a 7-of-8 mark from the free throw line.

It was Brown who provided a spark to start the third quarter after the Celtics' first half resulted in a three-point lead at the break. Brown was a catalyst in the effort, knocking down consecutive three-pointers before Derrick White’s three and a Kristaps Porzingis layup contributed to an 11-2 scoring run and a double-digit lead.

“It was a physical game all night long,” Brown said. “So for me, just getting my jumper going, I think that kind of opened some stuff up. Just playing a game, that's it. Getting to my spots when it comes down to it. It was just making plays for my team. It wasn't too many X's and O's."

The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum, who missed his first NBA playoff game of his career. His absence left a gaping offensive hole that Brown quickly filled with a 12-point first quarter before finishing with 36 points, his second most since the all-star break.

An increase of responsibility without Tatum couldn’t even break Brown’s mentality.

“No different,” Brown said about his preparation. “Obviously, [Tatum] is [the] offensive leader of our team. We all kind of play off of him, but any given night, I could rise to the occasion. I just do what the team needs me to do. I've taken that mentality, and I think sometimes people think that's like the only thing that you can do."

Although the Celtics took a 2-0 series lead Wednesday behind Brown’s impressive performance, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP described his outing as "lucky". When he was asked to elaborate, Brown simply stated there were areas that needed improvement.

It’s an approach head coach Joe Mazzulla will certainly appreciate.

“At the end of the day, he's willing to do whatever it takes for us to win,” Mazzulla said. “He didn't come in saying he had to get 36 (points) and 10 (rebounds). 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. So regardless if it's going well for him or not, he could take it to another level. He did that for us, and I thought the guys kind of fed off.”