In a matchup of teams that could very well meet in this year’s NBA Finals, the reigning Finals MVP did not deliver a championship-caliber performance.
Jaylen Brown struggled Wednesday against Oklahoma City Thunder, finishing with more fouls committed (six) than field goals made (5-for-15) in [the Celtics’ 118-112 loss](https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/03/12/celtics-cant-keep-pace-with-thunder-as-okc-sweeps-season-series-with-118-112-win/) at TD Garden. He scored just 10 points in 38 minutes, went 0-for-5 from 3-point range, could not contain OKC star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and did not attempt a single free throw before fouling out with 3:38 remaining.
Brown zeroed in on that final point several times during his postgame news conference, viewing it as emblematic of his failure to match the Thunder’s physicality.
“I give credit to OKC,” he said. “Tougher team sets the rules. They had a good level of physicality tonight, and I could be more physical. I could use my body more. I settled in some spots, but I didn’t meet the level of physicality tonight. I had no free-throw attempts, and that’s unusual. So just making sure you get your body healthy, etc. But I didn’t meet the level of physicality tonight.”
It was just the third time this season that Brown finished a game with zero foul shots attempted, and the third time in his NBA career that he did so while playing at least 38 minutes. Brown has dealt with a nagging knee injury but said that wasn’t the cause of his ineffectiveness.
“Tonight I felt better than I did over the last two weeks, to be honest,” he said. “I felt my knee was — I felt better than I have in a while. So I think I’m trending in the right direction. Just tonight, I had some open looks that didn’t go in. They were physical. I didn’t meet the level of physicality like I can. I had no free-throw attempts. I could be more physical, make them call it or whatever. And then on defense — I couldn’t get anything going on either side of the ball tonight, so it was just one of them games.
“Give credit to OKC, though. They’ve been playing good basketball. They were physical tonight. They’ve been physical all season long. And they outplayed us tonight.”
As a team, the Thunder attempted 35 free throws to the Celtics’ 12, including a massive 18-3 advantage in the fourth quarter. Brown’s three fouls early in the fourth contributed to that disparity, as OKC spent the final 6:48 in the bonus.
Brown said the Thunder like to “foul bait” to draw borderline calls but said the Celtics, not the officials, were to blame for their repeated trips to the charity stripe.
“I mean it just was one of those games,” Brown said. “I’m not even gonna blame officiating or anything like that, just one of those games where I couldn’t get anything going offensively or defensively. It was some maybe some tough calls that could’ve went the other way or not, but definitely OKC was a tougher team for a large stretch. … All those guys use their physicality, and I’ve got to be better at meeting that level. That’s on me, and we’ve just got to look forward to every single game and in the playoffs. What’s gonna be key is meeting that level, so health is key, and we’ll be ready.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, the odds-on favorite for NBA MVP with one month remaining in the regular season, led all scorers with 34 points on 11-of-20 shooting while nearly equaling Boston’s team total of free-throw attempts by himself (10-for-11).
“It’s tough,” said Brown, who takes pride in guarding opponents’ top scoring threats. “That boy is good, you know what I mean? That boy is good. Big fan of his game. Shifty, crafty around the basket, knows how to use his body well, draws fouls, and he’s been hitting the three ball well too. Tough, definitely a guy that you watch and you study to be better if we end up playing him down the line. He’s a tough cover, and he’s been playing some good basketball, and you’ve got to tip your cap.”
The Celtics, who came in riding a five-game win streak, got strong scoring nights from Jayson Tatum (33 points), Derrick White (22 points) and Al Horford (18 points) and were tied with eight minutes remaining. But they needed more from the rest of their roster against a deep Thunder team that owns a 12-game lead atop the otherwise competitive Western Conference.
Brown, Jrue Holiday, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser went a combined 4-for-25 from 3-point range with zero trips to the foul line.
“I thought we got some good looks,” Brown said. “I thought we had a good game plan. Just got to win those matchups. We didn’t win them tonight. I didn’t win mine tonight, so that cost us the game.”