CLEVELAND — After the Celtics dropped Game 2 in blowout fashion at home, Jaylen Brown called out his entire team for their effort. The defense was “unacceptable,” the All-Star said, as he wanted to recalibrate his team’s mindset going into the rest of the East semifinals.
So the Celtics bounced back from there, beating the Cavaliers 106-93 in Game 3 on Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. While the Cavs tried to put together enough momentum for a comeback attempt, the Celtics never allowed their opposition to seriously think of a win. So not only did the Celtics take the 2-1 series lead, but they also followed Brown’s lead and leadership.
“We got enough talent in the locker room to beat teams,” Brown said. “But if we’re not on the same page and we’re not playing hard, those are when we get ourselves in trouble. So making sure, before the game at film and shootaround, talking to everybody, touching everybody, letting everybody know that, ‘Hey, we’re not here to play around.’ We didn’t come to Cleveland for the weather, so let’s go.”
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Aside from the joking poke at Cleveland, Brown has a fair point. The Celtics’ effort just wasn’t good enough in Game 2. Sure, the Cavs made 3-pointers while the Celtics were cold. But their overall play failed to live up to their lofty championship expectations. While teams will drop games throughout the long playoffs, Brown clearly wanted to ensure the Celtics didn’t fall into any lingering bad habits.
Brown was a huge part of the Game 3 win, too, as he poured in 28 points and nine rebounds on a sparkling 13-for-17 shooting. As part of mic’d up moments of the game, Brown hyped up his teammates and gave some encouraging words. Jayson Tatum was also a big part of the win, putting up 33 points after he’s been criticized for his recent lack of efficiency. Jrue Holiday also had an important game, finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The Celtics responded well — once again — to a home playoff loss, much like they did in the first-round series against the Heat. They’re now 3-0 in road playoff games this season. While critics will want perfection from a team that dominated the regular season, that’s not always practical. But what Brown wanted from his team was consistent effort and a will to win — the C’s checked all those boxes Saturday.
“It’s the playoffs,” Brown said. “Anything can happen, especially if you come out flat. We’ve got to do a better job of that, we can’t think like this series is gonna go like last series. We’ve got to come out and have the same defensive effort going into Game 4, and that’s just the urgency we need to have.”
