In just his second season with the Boston Celtics, head coach Joe Mazzulla has seen Jaylen Brown evolve and elevate his game, especially in playoff time.
Just two wins more and the Celtics are back to the NBA Finals.
“Poise, patience, and discipline,” Mazzulla said of Brown's 40-point explosion that led the Celtics to a 126-110 Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers for a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference Finals.
"Poise, patience, discipline..."
— NBA (@NBA) May 24, 2024
Coach Joe Mazzulla shares what he saw from Jaylen Brown's 40-point night 🗣? pic.twitter.com/mojUVaQzg7
Brown followed up his Game 1 heroics by tying a playoff-career high in points as the Celtics moved two wins away from a second NBA Finals trip in the last three seasons.
Jaylen Brown tied a PLAYOFF CAREER-HIGH with 40 PTS to give the @celtics a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals ??
— NBA (@NBA) May 24, 2024
Game 3: Saturday, 8:30pm/et on ABC pic.twitter.com/N5xtkQbYh1
Mazzulla has nothing but praise for his All-Star wing, who shot 14-of-27 from the field in Game 2 and had 33 points through three quarters already.
“He just continues to get better and better and he takes a lot of pride in his ability to impact the game in different ways and I thought he did it tonight.”
No doubt.
Brown’s 24 point-half set the tone for the Celtics early and the East no. 1 seed never looked back en route to their first Game 2 win of the postseason
“He’s one of my favorite people. I love coaching him and watching him work,” Mazzulla added.
The 35-year-old tactician also marveled at the three-time All-Star’s ability to be a hard worker and improved some areas of his game to even become a well-rounded player.
“He’s got that innate ability to work hard and be better. Jaylen has unreal confidence but he’s also not afraid to work on things that he knows he has to get better. He just cares about the nice stuff.”
After barely winning Game 1, Mazzulla lauded his squad’s defensive efforts despite some lapses on crashing the boards.
“Our defensive execution stayed intact. We gave up a few rebounds but our offensive spacing [and] shot selections were good. We just managed the game properly.” “They tested our discipline, our communication and I thought we handled it better in Game 2.”
Game 3 will be on May 26, Sunday, 8:30 a.m. LIVE on One Sports, RPTV, NBA Philippines, and the Pilipinas Live app.
