BOSTON — With his hard work done Saturday night, Jaylen Brown scrolled through his phone while soaking his left foot in a tub of ice. Around him, his teammates laughed about the technical foul Brown received for arguing a call later reversed by a coach’s challenge.
“Get that one rescinded,” piped up Sam Hauser. “I’ll fight for you.”
Even while joking, the Celtics had Brown’s back. In the winner’s locker room, his teammates marveled at how he embraced such a heavy burden against Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers. Over nearly 42 minutes of Boston’s 111-101 win, Brown hounded Dončić defensively while attacking the Lakers repeatedly at the other end of the court.
Jrue Holiday, who knows as well as anyone what it takes to handle such a challenging defensive assignment, said he doesn’t believe people realize how difficult it is to play at such a high level offensively and defensively simultaneously.
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“I’ve tried it for a few years and I don’t do it as well as he does,” Holiday said. “So him taking that role on and taking on that lead and being that tough — I mean, it looked like he frustrated Luka for a lot of the game. That’s hard to do. And then on the other end, going right back at him.”
In a prime-time rivalry game that buzzed with playoff intensity, the Celtics decided Brown and Jayson Tatum would barely rest. Their ability to handle such a demanding two-way load, which helped decide last season’s NBA Finals, again pushed Boston over the top. Over 87 combined minutes, they scored 71 of their team’s 111 points (Tatum scored 40) while racking up 10 assists between them. Brown still found the energy to give Dončić problems. Tatum notched 12 rebounds, two steals and a block while taking care of his defensive responsibilities, including time spent on LeBron James. That type of workload isn’t for everyone, but Boston’s All-Stars savor it.
For as much as the Celtics score, the team’s go-to guys take as much pride in their defense. Inside the organization, there’s a belief that Brown and Tatum’s ability to defend differentiates their team from much of their competition. Having a pair of All-Stars willing to do the dirty work, and capable of doing it at a high level throughout a significant load of minutes, gives the Celtics an edge. Many of the league’s other great players won’t — or can’t — defend like Brown and Tatum do.
Jayson Tatum spent significant time on LeBron James during the Celtics’ win. (Elsa/Getty Images)
“The toll that it takes,” Joe Mazzulla said. “The mental and emotional and physical toughness that it takes to do what Jaylen is able to do, like he did tonight, is just high-level by him. And Jayson’s ability to take pride in his individual defense.”
Brown seemed to take offense to the idea that he did anything out of the ordinary against Dončić and the Lakers. Asked about the matchup, Brown said he usually guards the best player on the opposing team. Still, it’s not easy to see that defending Dončić requires more than guarding, say, the best player on the Washington Wizards. Beyond that, Brown doesn’t seem to treat the Dončić matchup the way he handles every other assignment. He gears up for Dončić, focusing in on every detail. Over the years, Brown has studied Dončić’s game.
“I think Luka is one of the greats,” Brown said. “He is one of those generational talents. So I have fun watching Luka play offensively, like what he’s capable of doing, scoring the ball like his talent is, offensively, his talent is next to none. So, he’s one of my favorite players on that side of the ball, so I spend a lot of time watching his game and things like that.
“So tonight I was able to make some plays, but Luka’s a great player.”
Dončić’s greatness brought another lightning bolt to the Celtics-Lakers rivalry, which had no shortage of storylines Saturday night. James won’t have many more games in Boston, where he has had so many defining moments, good and bad. Dončić was competing against the Celtics for the first time since falling to them in the finals — and, this time, he was doing it with one of the greatest players of all-time by his side. The enormity of the matchup even impacted Mazzulla, who played Tatum a season-high 45:26, including all 24 minutes of the second half. Tatum and Brown played the entire first quarter together, a rarity.
That quarter alone provided enough entertainment to make the sky-high ticket prices more palatable. The Lakers struck first with a flurry of ball movement and shot making. The Celtics responded by picking Dončić’s pocket three times and capitalizing in transition each time. The energy never ceased. The crowd stood for much of the action. The players didn’t approach the game as just one of 82.
“This game means a lot to us,” said Holiday, who scored seven points in his return from a four-game absence. “Obviously, being the Lakers and you know the history behind that and Lakers and Celtics. Playing in LA and getting getting our ass whooped (earlier this season) wasn’t fun. We just had to take on the challenge.”
The Celtics did that. With four minutes left in the first quarter, Brown hustled to avoid a Jordan Goodwin screen, stripped Dončić and found Al Horford for a fast-break dunk. Brown then celebrated with a gesture to signal he had locked up Dončić.
Brown always seems charged up to see Dončić. Even before meeting the All-Star in the Finals, Brown sounded like he wanted to prove something in that matchup. After a regular season meeting with the Mavericks last season, Brown followed up a big outing by stressing the importance and the difficulty of playing two-way basketball. Though Brown never directly criticized Dončić, it was easy to read into the remark about how “you’ve gotta be at a certain level of shape” to apply constant pressure on both ends of the court. The implication seemed to be that only Brown, not Dončić, could handle such a burden in their matchup. Winning the Finals MVP award months later only underlined Brown’s willingness to accept the challenge of defending Dončić while still producing plenty of offense.
Sometimes, Brown hints he feels some of his two-way ability gets overlooked.
“You’ve got to be in incredible shape, first off,” Brown said. “I think that pretty much sums it up. You got to be in great shape. And we have a great team, and each and every night, you know, it’s an honor to be able to be a part of a winning group.
“And I’m willing to make sacrifices on either end to get the job done, but on any given night, I could be the best out on the floor on offense or defense, and my team knows that and respects that.”
Holiday said it takes more than just conditioning to produce as Brown does on both sides of the ball.
“It’s willpower,” Holiday said. “It’s not just strength and conditioning. Just having the determination. You can see that JB has it. Especially on platforms and games like this, JB locks in and that’s a part of what makes us so good.”
The Celtics all locked in after halftime, holding the Lakers to just two points during the first six minutes of the third quarter. Dončić eventually found a scoring rhythm late in the second half, but his hot streak came after the Celtics had built their lead to 22 points. Los Angeles cut that margin to four points with 4:36 left, but Brown responded immediately with a 3-pointer. Including that shot, he and Tatum outscored the Lakers 12-6 during the rest of the game.
To the end, Brown and Tatum handled their business on both ends.
“When your best players take pride in individual defense, I think it sets a tone for your team,” Mazzulla said. “Those guys take on that challenge, and JB thrives taking on that challenge.”
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(Photo of Al Horford, Jaylen Brown and Luka Dončić: Mark Stockwell / Associated Press)
