Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics ended their West Coast road trip in style on Saturday, Jan. 3, beating the LA Clippers 146-115. Joe Mazzulla’s team heads back to Boston having won three of their four games while on the road.
Jaylen Brown played a key role in the win. He ended the night with 50 points, five assists and three rebounds, shooting 18-of-26 (69.2%) from the field with 6-of-10 (60%) from the three-point line.
Shortly after the win, Brown took to social media to joke that it may have been his recent salsa lesson that helped him secure a spot in Boston’s history books. Brown became just the third player in franchise history to record multiple 50-point games, joining Jayson Tatum and Larry Bird.
“Was it the salsa lesson last night. I gotta dance more often lol,” Brown joked.
Jaylen Brown
Was it the salsa lesson last night 🧐 I gotta dance more often lol
The Celtics’ forward had previously posted a live stream of himself working on the dance floor. It came shortly after it emerged he’d been snubbed for the December Player of the Month award.
However, Brown clearly used that snub as fuel because he dominated on both sides of the floor throughout Saturday’s game, even clamping Kawhi Leonard, who has been on a heater in recent weeks.
Brown Asked To Guard Kawhi In Celtics Win
Throughout his career, Brown has always been willing to take on the challenge of guarding the opposing team’s best player, and against the Clippers, that was no different.
During his postgame news conference, head coach Joe Mazzulla revealed that Brown had specifically requested to guard Leonard during the flight from Sacramento to Los Angeles.
“Since I’ve been here, I get to coach guys that care about winning, care about defense, and care about the team,” Mazzulla said. “And so he texted it to me on the plane (asking to guard Leonard) from Sacramento, to here. He texted me on the plane in Sacramento. And I thought that was great. I just think that’s a representation of, you know. the organization, but also the leadership and, you know, what he does.”
Brown played a significant role in keeping the Clippers star quiet. Over his previous five games, Leonard was averaging 40.4 points per night. Yet, led by Brown, the Celtics held him to 22 points on 35.3% shooting.
The Celtics Are Proving Their Doubters Wrong
Saturday’s win over the Clippers took Boston’s season record to 22-12, and positioned them just half a game back from the New York Knicks, who hold the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
According to Cleaning The Glass, which has a built-in garbage-time filter, the Celtics have also been one of the best teams in the NBA over the past two weeks. The site has them leading the league in point differential (+14.1), sitting second in offensive rating (127.2 points per 100 possessions) and fourth in defensive rating (113.1 points allowed per 100 possessions).
Boston will be back in action on Monday, Jan. 5, when it returns to the TD Garden to face the Chicago Bulls. Brown will once again be tasked with leading the offensive line, and potentially anchoring the team’s point-of-attack defense.
Judging by how successful his last salsa lesson proved to be, maybe he should get back on the dance floor once he touches back down in Boston. After all, another 50-point night would work wonders for his MVP case.