Boston Celtics: 2 studs from C’s epic Game 3 victory to take series lead

Boston Celtics stud No. 2) Jaylen Brown

As we stated in the introduction slide, the Boston Celtics got off to a fast and effective start to this game, seeing an 11-point advantage over the Dubs by the end of the first quarter and a 12-point advantage as they headed into halftime.

Now, while obviously basketball is a team sport and, in turn, this production couldn’t have been accomplished without all eight players who stepped foot on the court during this time span, leading the charge and setting the tone for this early eruption–and, frankly, for the game as a whole–was Jaylen Brown.

Though the vast majority of praise has already gone to and will likely continue to go to Jayson Tatum (finished with 26 points, nine assists, six boards, and a steal), his Jay-squad cohort, in our humble opinion, was the ultimate difference-maker and tone-setter in this game.

From his tremendous decision-making on offense to his high-energy hustle and drive when on defense, the 2021 All-Star and 2022 All-Star snub was an absolutely lethal leader on the floor for Boston.

In nearly 40 minutes played on the night, Brown posted 27 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and a block on 56 percent shooting from the floor and 50 percent shooting from deep.

Now, to some, the wing’s performance may not have been viewed, at least on the surface, as all that deserving of a spot on this list today, as they’ll almost certainly like to point out that 17 of his points came in the first quarter alone, thus only scoring 10 more through the final three.

That said, our counter to this would be that it was quite evident that Brown optionally took his foot off the gas on offense once Tatum started to find his rhythm on this side of the ball and, as a result, started to utilize his energy on the defensive end, where he provided sound one-on-one coverage and was a highly underrated help defender in the contest as well.

Jaylen Brown set the tone early in Wednesday’s Game 3 and, without his energy and efficiency, coming away with the win likely wouldn’t have been as easy of a feat to accomplish.