Jaylen Brown drops career-high 50 points in Celtics win over Clippers
RECAP: Jaylen Brown continued his ridiculous run with a career-high 50 points in Boston’s win over the Clippers.
Jan 3, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) shoots the ball against forward Derrick Jones Jr. (5) in the second half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Jaylen Brown, operating as the true No. 1 for a Jayson Tatum-less Celtics club, is and has been on one hell of a run for Boston this season.
But on Saturday night in Los Angeles, Brown took it to an even higher level, this time with 50 points in the Green's 146-115 win over the Clippers. The performance was Brown's second career 50-point game, and also matched his single-game career high set in an overtime win over the Magic back in Jan. 2022.
“I knew [Brown] was going to come out and play with a chip on his shoulder, and after the game, I just kind of thanked him," Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, whose team has won seven of their last 10 games, said following the win. "I thought it was an honor to watch to be able to watch a performance like that as a coach. He brought it on the offensive end, but I thought his defense was tremendous from start to end. I thought that was one of the most complete games I’ve seen him play.”
On the way to his 50 burger in this one, Brown shot a lethal 18-for-26 (69.2 percent) from the field, and also knocked down six of his 10 tries from beyond the arc. Brown was also credited with five assists and three rebounds, and also drained eight of his free throw attempts, in just over 35 minutes of play for the C’s in the win.
Brown's 50-point outing was the 10th-best scoring night by any NBA player this season, while his 69.2 field goal percentage was the best by any Celtic (minimum 25 attempts) since Kyrie Irving also went 18-for-26 in what was a 43-point outing for the Celtics during the 2018-19 season. Brown is also the first Celtic to post at least 50 points and shoot at least 69 percent since Larry Bird did it in 1989.
But for the Celtics, whose 146 points tied a season high, this night was about more than just Brown and his 50-piece.
Behind Brown, the Celtics got a tremendous shooting night out of Derrick White (29 points on 10-for-20 shooting), while four other players, including three bench players, finished with at least 11 points in the victory. Boston also connected on 24 of their 51 tries from three-point land, making their 47.1 percentage from deep their fourth-best three-point shooting night of the season.
With their West Coast trip behind them, the Celtics will return home and host the Bulls on Monday night, and with tip off set for 7:30 p.m. at TD Garden.
