Jaylen Brown wasted no time adding his name to the Celtics record books on Sunday night against the Blazers.
The All-Star forward hit the 30-point mark in the third quarter against the Blazers, giving him nine straight games scoring 30 or more points. The impressive run ties Larry Bird for the longest streak of 30-point games in franchise history. Bird did it back in 1985 in a stretch that lasted from Feb. 18, 1985 to March 3, 1985.
Brown did a lot of his work early to hit the historic mark, scoring 27 points in the first half against Portland including a buzzer-beater 3 before halftime. The veteran forward ended up hitting the 30-point mark at the free throw line with 5:28 remaining in the third quarter.
Brown entered Sunday’s game averaging a career-best 29.4 points per game while thriving in a No. 1 role for the Celtics offense with Jayson Tatum sidelined. He’s hit the 30-point mark now in 12 of his last 13 games and 20 of his 29 appearances overall.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla raved about the forward after Friday’s win.
“To me, it’s just balance,” told reporters in Indiana. “He picks and chooses his spots really well. We’re obviously playing a little bit faster, so he’s getting some easy baskets in transition. I think he’s finding a great balance of knowing when to score within the offense vs. letting the guys kind of do their thing. I think it’s kind of letting him rest a little bit.
“He just spends a ton of time on reading the game and the execution of the game. Obviously, he’s very, very talented, and that has a lot to do with it. Just his desire to continue to work and play vs. different coverages has really helped.”
Brown goes for a new franchise record on Tuesday night as the Celtics continue their road trip against the Utah Jazz.