On draft night in 2016, there was some disappointment inside TD Garden. The Celtics held the No. 3 overall pick, and there was some hope that the franchise would land an impact player in their rebuild. Rumors swirled about a Jimmy Butler trade. The Celtics wound up selecting Jaylen Brown, and some fans, of course, booed the pick at a party for season-ticket holders at the arena.
It took some time, but little did they know, the Celtics did get an impact player in Brown. And nearly eight years later, inside the Garden, there were nothing but cheers.
Brown has evolved into one of the game’s best two-way players. And as the Celtics gear up for another championship chase with their All-NBA guard leading the way, Sunday presented an opportunity to appreciate his journey. Brown scored 26 points to lead the Celtics to an easy 124-107 victory over the Blazers, and along the way, he surpassed a significant milestone as he reached 10,000 career points.
Brown is certainly laser-focused on the playoffs, motivated to turn the Celtics’ recent postseason failures into a long-awaited championship. But it was important for him to take a step back on Sunday and acknowledge all that he’s accomplished so far in his career. He received a standing ovation. His path has not been perfect, and he knows his story is far from finished, but as he chases his bigger goals, he didn’t want to lose sight of what got him to this point.
“Don’t want to skip over that,” Brown said. “It’s been a great journey, even though the journey is still going, just take the moments out to just appreciate all the work, the hard work, the effort that has gone into even getting to this point. It’s been ups, it’s been downs, things haven’t gone my way, things have, and here we are. So I’m incredibly grateful and I’m looking forward to the future.”
Brown scored his 26 points over three quarters as the Celtics, without Jayson Tatum, grabbed their fifth consecutive victory. Payton Pritchard, who scored 20 points with nine assists, led a unit of reserves to the finish line in the final period as they handled the 21-win Blazers.
Brown, who entered the night needing 17 points to reach his milestone, scored 15 points before halftime and hit the mark in the first minute of the third quarter with a left-handed layup. A few minutes later, he was recognized on the video board and received a standing ovation. He saluted the fans back.
He didn’t take that for granted.
“It was great,” Brown said. “Especially all the supporters who have been supporting me from day one. Obviously things have been up and down throughout the early stages of my career and I’ve been able to get different opportunities, been able to improve and also have been able to gain more responsibility.
“But for the day ones, the JB fans who’ve stayed in my corner since day one, I feel that love and I like to just show that love right back. There’s a lot of people here in Boston who have supported my career, my journey, and I’m grateful for that. That encouraged me to just keep getting better. That encourages me to keep improving and proving the naysayers wrong and just keep leveling up.”
Brown added nine more points to his total in the third before sitting out the fourth. Inside the locker room after the game, Joe Mazzulla celebrated him. He shook Brown’s hand at his locker with some words of encouragement and support for an important milestone.
“A lot, just because of the type of guy that he is, the hard work he puts in, and really the growth that he’s shown this year working to become a complete player on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said. “So I know he’s happy about that, but even when he achieves those things, he’s never satisfied. But it’s cool to be able to coach guys who get those types of milestones, and to be a part of that. He deserves that because of the hard work he puts in.”
Sunday’s victory was not entirely smooth against an inferior team. The Celtics gave up 22 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second-chance points. Old friend Dalano Banton had 28 points and nine assists as he continues to flourish in Portland after his deadline trade from Boston, and the Blazers hung around. The visitors trailed by just four late in the third before the Celtics took care of business in the fourth.
For a second consecutive game, Mazzulla stuck with a reserves unit for the entire fourth quarter. Unlike Friday’s narrow win over the Kings, when they barely held on, the C’s had no issues on Sunday.
The Celtics have four regular-season games remaining this week, then a week of rest before the playoffs begin. This final stretch will be a test of balance between staying healthy and staying sharp in preparation for a deep run to June.
“It’s a battle of the mind,” Brown said. “We already clinched (the No. 1 seed). In a sense, we’ve done our job in the regular season. But now, you prepare your minds for the moments where it’s going to matter most. You don’t want to relax, you don’t want to get complacent, so sometimes even when you go out there you have to pretend like it’s a playoff game and it’s not. And it’s just a battle of how strong is your mind, your focus and that’s what we’re challenging ourselves with now.
“To see the second group go out there and be able to do what they’re doing and grow in those moments and the first group continue to be able to stay locked in to every possession, that’s just going to help us down the line as a team.”