“We were just having fun, I think Stewart is a nice guy.”
Jaylen Brown and Isaiah Stewart both received technical fouls following their exchange (Charles Krupa/AP Photo).
The Celtics had their six-game win streak broken on Monday night in a 112-105 loss to the Pistons, but they didn’t go down without a fight, in multiple senses of the word.
Jaylen Brown kept up his MVP-caliber scoring season, dropping 34 points as well as Derrick White putting up 31, but they couldn’t do enough to hold off Cade Cunningham’s Pistons.
However, while Brown posted another great game, he was a talking point for more than just his scoring, as he got into it with Piston’s big man, Isaiah Stewart.
Since coming into the league in 2020, Stewart has seemingly been leading the charge in bringing back the “Bad Boy” Pistons from the 80’s. He is often at the center of fights, and was even ejected from a game against the Bucks on Dec. 3.
This interaction is what Brown was referencing when he put his fist up at Stewart, as that is exactly what Stewart did to the Bucks’ Bobby Portis.
Brown would go on to make a joke about the interaction post-game.
“We were just having fun,” Brown told reporters in regards to the scuffle. “I think Stewart is a nice guy.”
This physicality was on display all game Monday night, and Brown believes it’s becoming a trend when teams play against them.
“It seems like that, but I’m all for it,” Brown responded when asked if teams are becoming more physical against the Celtics. “Tonight, you could definitely see that they were just trying to foul, foul hard, and things like that. I just gotta protect myself from injury, but step up and knock down the free throw.”
This way of playing seemed to work for the Pistons and threw Brown off his game from the foul line, as he only shot 50%. As they look to compete for a spot in the playoffs throughout the rest of the season, the Celtics will need to figure out a way to combat this tactic.
“We meet the physicality, and I think that’s what we did tonight,” Brown continued. “I think my team did enough, I gotta be better down the stretch. We gotta be better down the stretch.”
The Celtics will have a few days off as they next host the Heat on Friday.
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