The entire Madison Square Garden crowd went completely silent as Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum lay on the court, writhing in pain during Game 4 against the New York Knicks.
Tatum was diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles, ending his season and putting next year in jeopardy. A slight glimmer of hope for Boston entering Game 5 was its 8-2 regular season record without their All-NBA star.
Sure enough, the Celtics prevailed in large part thanks to Jaylen Brown, securing a 127-102 Game 5 win over the Knicks, keeping their back-to-back championship hopes alive for now.
Brown had one of his better games of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, recording 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting, eight rebounds and a career-high 12 assists. Derrick White added a game-high 34 points, hitting seven 3-pointers.
Despite Tatum suffering the worst injury of his career, Brown’s Game 5 heroics had NBA fans leaning into recency bias, claiming the former California star is being held back by Tatum. They took to social media to share their thoughts.
"Brown > Tatum Batman vs Robin," one fan claimed.
"Sucks Tatum hurt but I been saying he holds Brown back…" added another.
"Jaylen Brown is the star of this team!!!! trade Tatum bum (expletive) Celtics play team ball when he isn't on the court.... brown you are the GOAT," wrote a third.
"Jaylen Brown was the finals MVP for a reason! More guys are involved when Tatum isn’t there to chuck shots," commented a fourth.
"Tatum isn’t the star of that team…. Brown is…. Standing on that!" posted a fifth.
"Man, are the Celtics better without Jayson Tatum? Serious question. I think it’s Jaylen Brown’s team," added a sixth.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0)
© David Butler II-Imagn Images
Brown had been struggling in the Knicks series prior to Tatum's injury. Through Games 1-4, he shot just 38.1% from the field and 24.2% from distance while averaging 3.2 assists and 3.2 turnovers. He certainly stepped up his game with the former Duke standout sidelined.
Brown and the Celtics will look to force a Game 7 on Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET, facing the Knicks in Game 6 back at Madison Square Garden (New York City).