Jaylen Brown’s one bad shot can’t ruin one terrific night in Celtics win

The Raptors couldn’t contain Kemba Walker and the veteran wasn’t showing any signs of cooling himself off so the greatest threat to his outrageous fourth-quarter tear was going to have to come from within. A turnover, or worse, a bad shot.

Jaylen Brown stepped up and provided the latter, launching one from the right wing early in the shot clock with nobody under the hoop, keeping Walker from touching the ball on the possession.

Brown knew what he had done instantly and was mad at himself, and an incredulous Celtics coach Brad Stevens let him have it. Kemba Walker reacted in a way that pleased both Brown and Stevens.

It was a bad play in a quarter packed with great ones, but after the Celtics had survived the defending NBA champion Raptors, still formidable even without Kawhai Leonard, 112-106, the play that demonstrated the newly found team harmony was enjoyed by all recounting it.

“He told me I was good,” Brown said of Walker. “Brad had an aneurysm and Kemba said, ‘You’re good, bro. Just keep going.’ ”

Just a guess: Kyrie Irving might not have been as understanding and might not have put the play in his rear-view mirror as quickly as everyone else did.

“Aww, he don’t have to apologize to me,” Walker said. “He’s not a bad guy. He works hard. Maybe, well, I was hot. But at the end of the day, he’s a basketball player, and he took a great shot, he just missed. I didn’t want him to apologize. I wanted him to be confident. He came out and won AND he hit a big shot. It happens, just flow of the game.”

Stevens at first deadpanned that he didn’t remember Brown’s bad shot, then talked about it.

“His reaction was great and that’s all I care about at this point,” Stevens said. “His reaction was great and Kemba’s reaction was great.”

Brown said, “usually someone will say something or get upset, but Kemba just let me know I was all right and that gave me the confidence I needed.”

It was a rare bad moment on a terrific night for Brown, who played a mature game at both ends and on the boards.

On his highlight play of the night, Brown rifled a beautiful one-handed bounce pass in transition to Gordon Hayward, who finished with a layup.

The passer usually enjoys that play even more than the finisher.

“Absolutely,” Brown said. “I have definitely been working on that side of my game, being a playmaker and making plays for others. To see that, I was more excited for any of the other plays I made. Hopefully, there will be a lot more plays like that coming soon.”

Brown also stepped into the lane for big blocked shot down the stretch when the Celtics had their small lineup on the floor and he had a few nice kickouts to shooters.

“Just trying to be a monster on defense,” Brown said. “Marcus Smart’s leading the way and I’m right behind him.”

Brown looked like a player worthy of the commitment the Celtics made to him when they guaranteed him more than $100 million in a four-year contract extension.

Stevens praised Brown’s passing, rebounding and rim protection when the Celtics needed it most, when they went with their small lineup with Grant Williams at center.

“He was aware and alert,” Stevens said. “He’s got a lot more experience to be able to do those things.”

Brown and Jayson Tatum, who worked well together on several key plays, both contributed 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Brown made 11 of 20 shots, despite shooting just 2 of 7 from 3-point range. He blocked two shots and had a terrific all-around performance. The Celtics will need big steps forward from Brown and Tatum and they both looked ready to give them that in Friday’s home opener.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/366VnM0