How Jaylen Brown ‘set the tone’ for Celtics in Game 2 rout of Sixers

Locked-in Jaylen Brown was Celtics’ ‘difference-maker’ in Game 2 rout originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

BOSTON — Jaylen Brown has played well early in games before, but this night felt different.

Brown drilled a 3-pointer on the Celtics’ first offensive possession Wednesday night at TD Garden. Moments later, he picked up Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden full-court on defense, hounding the All-Star as he dribbled up the court.

Brown’s message was clear: Game 2 was going to play out differently than Game 1.

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Fast forward to about two hours later, when Brown was on the bench watching the Celtics wrap up a 121-87 rout that tied their second-round series at 1-1. Indeed, Brown followed up with his opening statement with an excellent two-way performance, pacing Boston with 25 points on 9 of 17 shooting while helping limit Harden to just 12 points on 2 of 14 shooting.

“(Brown) took the challenge. He really led us. His energy — he really set the tone,” Celtics big man Al Horford told NBC Sports Boston’s Brian Scalabrine on “Celtics Postgame Live” after the victory.

“Honestly, it’s as good of a game as I’ve ever seen him play. He was so locked in, he was so poised on the defensive end (with) his presence, and then on offense, just being solid and continuing to make plays. He was the difference-maker for us.”

There was plenty of difference to make up after Game 1, in which Harden dropped 45 points and Brown attempted just three second-half shots in Philly’s 119-115 victory.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla said his players were “angry” and “pissed” after Monday’s defeat, so Brown channeled those emotions into arguably his best two-way performance of the postseason to date.

“I think we’ve just got to take more pride in ourselves,” Brown said after the game. “I feel like we underperformed last game, and we wanted to come out and play to the best of our abilities. That’s what we did.”

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The Celtics needed this version of Brown on a night when Jayson Tatum scored just seven points — his fewest in a game since Feb. 14, 2021 — after getting into early foul trouble. While the Celtics got key offensive contributions from Malcolm Brogdon (23 points), Marcus Smart (15 points) and Derrick White (15 points), it was Brown who led the C’s both statistically and emotionally in Game 2.

“I thought JB did a great job getting us started with his defensive presence, and it passed down to Smart, to Grant (Williams), to Al (Horford), to everybody,” Mazzulla said after the game. “I thought we just had a defensive presence about us, and that led to our offense.”

The challenge for the Celtics will be maintaining that presence Friday night when the series shifts to Philly. But for one night at least, Brown proved why he’s one of the league’s best two-way wings who can deliver on the playoff stage.