Jaylen Brown arrived at his postgame press conference with a somber expression. He sat down and loudly exhaled as he awaited questions from the media.
His first few responses included sighs while he attempted to process what had transpired at the TD Garden less than an hour ago. Friday was supposed to be an easy win for the Celtics, who hosted their first NBA Cup game of the season.
Brown picked up his fifth foul midway through the third quarter, forcing him to watch the Celtics fall dramatically behind a Nets franchise near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. The damage had already been done when Brown finally returned during the fourth quarter, as Boston lost, 113-105, to Brooklyn to fall to 8-8 overall and 1-2 in the NBA Cup East Group B. The Nets improved to 3-12 overall and 1-2 in group play.
How did Brown explain the Celtics’ embarrassing performance?
“What’s my initial takeaway?” Brown said. “Come ready to play or don’t come at all. That’s my whole thing. We’ve got to come ready to play. We just went through the motions today. I don’t understand it.”
After a slow start to the game, the Celtics erupted on an 11-0 scoring run to close the first quarter to yield a six-point lead. It seemed they had found the solution to the Nets, one that would continue to propel them past a .500 record.
It scored 40 points in the second quarter to take a 62-53 advantage heading into the halftime break. The Celtics led by Brown, who finished with 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting and eight rebounds, cut the lead to three points, presumably enough to put themselves in a position to overtake the Nets on the scoreboard.
On his way to the basket, Brown’s left forearm connected with Terrance Mann’s face. A whistle sounded, signifying the Celtics’ star’s fifth foul. Joe Mazzulla, whose coach’s challenge confirmed the ruling, immediately sent Brown to the bench at the midway point of the third quarter, where Brown stayed for the duration of the quarter and the start of the final 12 minutes.
The Nets feasted on a Brown-less Celtics rotation, scoring 30 points in the quarter. Nic Claxton highlighted their efforts, recording his first NBA triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists. Michael Porter Jr. contributed 33 points on a hyper-efficient 13-of-21 shooting split, which greatly helped the Nets’ 43-of-82 clip from the floor and 13-of-33 mark from deep in the game.
Brown cited the second and third quarters as the moments when he realized the Celtics were not ready to compete — even against a team like the Nets. He offered a solution to his team’s issue, which was unable to be solved by his peers during the game.
“I just think, be confident, be aggressive, I guess,” Brown said. “Give credit to Brooklyn. Brooklyn did a pretty good job defensively. They got some long guys that maybe can discourage some shots, but we didn’t find enough stops to be able to get out and run. End of the second, end of the third, especially the second, I think they had a 40-point quarter in the second quarter was a 40-point quarter, and then the end of that third kind of gave them the separation they needed in this game.”
Given the Celtics secured a 113-99 win at the Nets on Tuesday and received ample rest in between games, it would have been easy to underestimate the Nets. Brooklyn’s 2-12 record entering the contest certainly was not a sign of danger, especially in front of a home Boston crowd on a Friday night.
Chalk it up as another learning moment for the .500 Celtics.
“I mean, there’s a ton of lessons,” Mazzulla said. “They just played better. They played better than we did tonight. And regardless of record or not, we are at our best, we have to play at such a different level, physically, mentally. We have to play at a different level to be at our best. And if we don’t play at that level, physically or mentally, at our best, we could lose any night to anybody.”
Brown received a unique perspective during the Nets’ fatal third-quarter stretch, as he was forced to watch from the bench with five fouls. He could not provide any help as he sat and watched the game quickly get out of hand.
“Regardless of if you’re making or missing shots, I mean, regardless of anything, we’ve just got to come out and play with great energy, great enthusiasm for the game,” Brown said. “Like want to win. It just didn’t seem like that was the case tonight.
“We need to play with an edge defensively and offensively. We’ve got to be the harder-playing team; that can’t be negotiable, and tonight we weren’t. Brooklyn was the harder-playing team. They play with more of an edge, and they deserve to win tonight.”
The Celtics’ upcoming schedule includes an eight-game gauntlet against teams well above .500, including the Pistons, Knicks and Raptors, three of the four best teams in the Eastern Conference based on current standings. The Lakers, the third seed in the Western Conference, travel to Boston in the latter half of the grueling stretch of challenges.
Brown said he didn’t know the best method to motivate his teammates while ensuring their focus is constant for every game. It’s an answer he will likely have to find for the Celtics to achieve the results they aim for this season.
The 10-year veteran certainly understands that.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to watch tomorrow,” Brown said. “That’s my sentiment. At the end of the day, we’ve all got a job to do. We’re all getting paid to do what we love to do. Come ready to play basketball, or you’re doing a disservice. So everybody got to come and be ready to do their job and have great energy, enthusiasm and want to win. That’s what it’s about at the end of the day, Celtic basketball. So we’ll look at it tomorrow.”