BOSTON — As the Celtics opened their title-defense playoff run Sunday against the Magic, plenty of eyes were on Jaylen Brown the first few minutes. Brown dealt with a bone bruise in his right knee for the past month, and while all signs were optimistic heading into Sunday’s game, playoff basketball intensity and physicality are at a different level.
Brown admitted he needed to ease himself into the game — that’s natural considering he hadn’t played in roughly two weeks. But by the end of the Celtics’ blowout win over the Magic in Game 1, Brown looked like himself come the second half. Those are all crucial steps for Brown as he navigates what he can and can’t do in a playoff setting as he manages his knee.
“I’m feeling a lot better, moving a lot better,” Brown said. “So I think that’s great. I think some people have definitely been praying for me over the last couple weeks or whatever and I’m feeling a lot better. Just take it one day at a time. Tonight, we got the win. But we gotta look forward to playing better. This Magic team, this Orlando team is not going to go away.”
Brown finished with 16 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals Sunday, shooting 6-for-14 from the field. There were bursts where Brown physically looked like himself, including some tough finishes on layups.
But as the Celtics trailed the Magic at halftime, it was clear he hadn’t impacted the game as much as normal. So that’s where he and the team turned it on the second half, limiting the Magic to just 37 points after the break. Brown also had his fingerprints marked all over the decisive third quarter, scoring 10 points in the frame.
“In the first half, they kind of controlled the intensity level of the game,” Brown said. “They were more physical than us and in the second half we kind of shifted that. We gotta have that mentality all series long. We gotta have the 100 mentality, be more physical, set the tone, set the intensity of the game. I think Orlando did a great job of that in the first half, so, it’s gonna be a lot of that this series.”
Brown often gets off to fast starts by using his physicality and athleticism to impose his will on the other team; he talks about how he takes pride in doing just that. But with his recent injury, his teammates will have to step up in that regard. As expected, they were more than ready to take on the scoring burden throughout Sunday’s game.
While Brown and Jayson Tatum weren’t their usual efficient selves, the Celtics got offense elsewhere. Derrick White poured in 30 points, shooting 7-for-12 on 3-pointers. Payton Pritchard scored 19 points off the bench, including a red-hot start where he came in as a scoring flamethrower.
So while Brown felt out the game and Tatum endured an 8-for-22 shooting night, the Celtics generated more than enough production against an offensively-challenged Magic team. That’s the strength of the defending champions where they don’t know where the scoring will come from, but they can rely on their entire roster. As the Celtics navigate deeper into the playoffs, they’ll need that steadiness while Brown continues to make important steps with his injury.
“It’s a challenge but he’s taking on that challenge, and he knows that we need him out there and we understand that he’s fighting through it and trying to give it his all and we appreciate that,” Tatum said of Brown playing through injury. “And I think game after game, just get more comfortable out there. But he did his part tonight and contributed to us getting a win.”
