On Monday, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics broke through and won the franchise its first championship since the Bush administration with a demolition of Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals from Boston.
Brown didn't have his most eye-popping game from a statistical standpoint in this one, but his performance for the series overall still netted him the coveted Finals MVP trophy and helped the Celtics cap off what was one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history.
One of the most impressive aspects of Brown's performance throughout these finals was the fact that not only was he producing at an efficient rate at the offensive end of the floor, but he also guarded Doncic, arguably the game's most difficult assignment, on the other end of the floor and did a solid job of making the Mavericks star work for everything he got and limiting his efficiency for the series.
After the game as the Celtics celebrated, Brown and Doncic shared a moment, with the two congratulating each other on a hard-fought series.
“Luka, you’re a killer. You got the best out of me. I love you, bro,” Brown told Doncic, via Tomek Kordylewski on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter (per the NBA).
“I love you too, bro,” replied Doncic.
It was a show of great sportsmanship between two players who played integral roles in their respective teams' ascension to the game's biggest stage and performed well when they got there.
An impressive performance
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla implemented a unique defensive strategy when facing Doncic and the Mavericks this Finals. While most team are inclined to consistently send double teams at both Doncic and Mavericks teammate Kyrie Irving, Mazzulla decided to primarily guard Doncic in single coverage in an effort to prevent his Mavericks teammates from getting going.
This of course meant that Mazzulla tasked Brown with staying in front of Doncic, who isn't the quickest or most athletic player but is a master at timing and deceleration and also is a physically strong human being with arguably the most unique skillset in the NBA.
On the whole, Brown did an admirable job of completing this task, walling off Doncic's attempts to drive into the paint and forcing him into difficult contested jumpers, the majority of which did not go down for the Slovenian sensation.
Brown also did a solid job of staying out of foul trouble, which is always a concern when guarding a player as crafty as Doncic, especially considering how heavily the Celtics rely on Brown's production on the other end of the floor.
Speaking of the other end of the floor, Brown delivered several big-time moments for the Celtics in these Finals, including a clutch jumper in Game 3 with under a minute remaining to essentially ice the game (and the series) for Boston.
In any case, the Celtics will now be the clear favorites to do this once again next year.
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