Jaylen Brown’s brilliance is the underrated storyline of Celtics-Cavs: ‘I don’t think anybody over there could really guard me’

Every time he touched the ball, Jaylen Brown got raucously booed by the Cleveland crowd. The boos — a result of a second-quarter entanglement with Max Strus — never wavered, all the way until the final buzzer.

Luckily for the Celtics, neither did Brown’s offense, nor his confidence.

“I embraced it,” Brown said of his newfound villain status at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Brown had just finished a layup when Max Strus landed on top of him. Brown reacted by grabbed Strus’ leg, an act that was reviewed for being a hostile act but was ultimately deemed a common foul, much to the disdain of the home crowd.

“I drove to the basket, felt like there was some contact, finished the play, landing on the ground, and I feel like somebody kicking me in the back of the head,” Brown said, recounting the incident.

“I feel like I got the right to remove or at least try to protect that. I wasn’t trying to do nothing there and trying to trip nobody up, but at the same time, you’re not about to just kick me in the head. It is what it is. I think they made the right call, and we moved on.”

Brown certainly moved on from the incident: He finished Game 4 with 27 points on 9 of 15 shooting, including 2-3 from three. All night, he relentlessly attacked the basket, increasing his aggression in the second half, in particular, when he put up 16 points and frequently exploited Darius Garland as a defender.

“I just get into the paint, take my time, and I feel like that’s what I’ve been doing, not just in the playoffs but all season long,” Brown said. “So, I just get to my spots and just do what I do.”

In four conference semifinal games against Cleveland, Brown is averaging 26.5 points and shooting 61.2% from the field.

Brown comes through in the clutch – and yes, the Celtics finally played clutch time minutes

For the first time since April 5th, the Celtics played clutch-time minutes, officially defined as the last five minutes of a game that is within five points.

Looking to go up 3-1 on the series, the Celtics led by 5 with just over a minute to play when Tatum found Brown on the wing for an open three-pointer. Swish.

Tatum, who was ecstatic, hit Brown’s chest so hard that Brown recoiled in pain.

“I didn’t realize how hard I hit him,” Tatum said with a grin. “I’ve been lifting a lot lately. High intensity game, I drove, they helped, he hit the big shot. I was hype.”

“I wasn’t paying no attention, and he just comes out of nowhere with a left hook straight to the chest, I’m gonna get him back for that,” Brown said, laughing.

The three-point shot was a clean look for Brown, who’s now shooting 44% from three on the series. It was also a reflection of the type of gravity Tatum carries – the Cavaliers’ defense was willing to collapse onto him and conceded an open three-pointer for Brown.

Jaylen Brown noted after the game that referee Tyler Ford was standing in his way on that momentous possession.

“I had to push him out (of) the way, then catch the ball (and) then able to knock the shot,” Brown said. “But he was like an extra defender right there because he was in the way. So that’s what I was telling him, that I need to get his @$# out of the way.”

Given that the Celtics got the win, Brown acknowledged the referee mishap ultimately didn’t matter: “It’s all good, the shot went in, we win the game, so probably a non-story.”

There is a story here, though, and it’s that of the dominant play of a three-time All Star who’s having an enormously efficient series on the heels of a career-best season. Even his free throw shooting – a point of inconsistency all season long – is up to 80% in four games against the Cavs.

The national spotlight will remain on Jayson Tatum, and he’s playing some great basketball, too; Tatum finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists in Game 4.

But Jaylen Brown’s efficiency is a key part of the Celtics’ success so far this postseason. Of all 20 point per game scorers still in the playoffs, Jaylen Brown has the best shooting percentage — 56% from the field. On Saturday night, to help power the Celtics to a 2-1 series lead, Brown had 29 points on 13-17 shooting.

On Monday, he ran it back for a 28 point in the 109-102 Game 4 win.

Asked what’s allowed him to be so effective in this series, Brown didn’t mince any words.

“I don’t think anybody over there could really guard me.”