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The Boston Celtics came into Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks facing elimination. They were also short-handed with the loss of Jayson Tatum who suffered an Achilles injury in Game 4. But the Celtics used a huge third quarter to take control of the game. And according to Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, there was one Jaylen Brown play in particular that changed the momentum of Game 5, as per ClutchPoints’ Celtics reporter Daniel Donabedian.
“I thought the dive into the bench kind of changed the game for us,” Joe Mazzulla said. “There were other game changing plays, but I thought that was one of them. He was just great on all levels. He took it upon himself to guard Brunson, set the tone, and he did that on both ends.”
The play that Mazzulla was referring to occurred when Brown was guarding Jalen Brunson and managed to poke the ball free. Brunson fell to the floor, and as the ball was rolling out of bounds in front of the Celtics’ bench, Jaylen Brown dove head first and managed to tap the ball back inbounds to Luke Kornet before either he or the ball fell out of bounds.
With the win, the Celtics forced a Game 6 back at Madison Square Garden. In Game 5, Brown finished with 26 points, eight rebounds, 12 assists and one steal in just about 37 minutes of play. He shot 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) from the field, 3-of-5 (60 percent) from the three-point line and 5-of-8 (62.5) percent from the free-throw line.
Coming off a Finals MVP performance during the Celtics’ title run last season, Brown has had a rather solid postseason run this year. Through the Celtics first nine playoff games, Brown had been averaging 21.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals with splits of 43.7 percent shooting from the field, 30.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 78.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
If the Celtics want to avoid elimination again and force a deciding Game 7 on their home floor, they’ll need a similar performance from Brown in Game 6.
