Jaylen Brown Shows His Growth in Celtics' Sweep of Pacers

The one-time Cal star averaged 29.8 points and earned MVP honors for the Eastern Conference finals

Jaylen Brown / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Jaylen Brown was talking about how his team, the Boston Celtics, has matured. But he could have been referencing his own growth.

"We feel like we're a different team than we were last year and the year before that," Brown said. "Time has gone by, experience has been gained and I think we are ready to put our best foot forward.”

The Celtics have returned to the NBA Finals after a four-game sweep of Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals. They seem likely to face the Dallas Mavericks, up 3-0 in their Western series vs. Minnesota heading into Tuesday night’s Game 4.

Either way, Brown and his teammates won’t play again until June 6 when the Celtics host the opener of the Finals.

Against the Pacers, Brown, the 27-year-old one-time Cal prodigy, played the best postseason series of his life.

His 29.8-point scoring average was his best in any of the 21 playoff series he already has been a part of in his career. It was also the highest-scoring NBA postseason series by a Cal alum.

Brown was rewarded with the Larry Bird award as the Eastern Conference MVP. 

“I wasn’t expecting that at all,” Brown said. “I don’t ever win s—. I was just happy we won.”

Winning eluded the Brown and the Celtics a year ago, when they lost in seven games to the Miami Heat in the Eastern final. Brown labored through a grim series, averaging 19.0 points but shooting just 16 percent (7-for-43) from the 3-point while committing 25 turnovers.

By comparison, against the Pacers, Brown made 37 percent of his 3s (nearly 52 percent from the field overall) and had just nine turnovers to go with eight steals.

He was at his best when it mattered.

In Game 1, Brown had a key steal late and made a difficult 3-pointer from the left corner with 6 seconds left in regulation to force overtime

He matched his postseason career high with 40 points in the Game 2 victory.

And he had a timely blocked shot with just over a minute left with the score tied in Game 4, then drove into the lane and fed Derrick White for the go-ahead 3-point basket.

“He was unreal this whole series, a complete player on both sides of the ball that you don’t really see much these days,” said White of Brown.

Boston coach Joe Mazzulla liked what he saw, even when Brown did misfire.

“He has great short-term memory. He misses a shot, it never affects the next one,” Brown said. “I just loved his poise, his ability to attack.”

A year after coming up short against Miami and two seasons after a six-game loss to the Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals, Brown feels ready for the game’s biggest stage.

“I think I’m one of the best two-way wings, or guards, whatever you want to say, in this league,” Brown said. “This year I thought I’ve taken (my game) to (another) level, and I’ve increased it.”