Brown Heats Up Early, Celtics No Problem Cutting Down the Nets

Brown scores 20 points ... in the first quarter! He would finish with a game-high 34 points, and Jayson Tatum chipped in 29 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics (19-5).

Just a two-possession game with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter, Kevin Durant had one of those few and far-between mortal moments on the basketball court. 

Looking to attack off the dribble, he lost control of the ball. 

He tried to retrieve it, only to have Boston’s Jaylen Brown swoop in from his blind side, take control of the ball, and deliver a powerful one-handed dunk to push Boston’s lead to 83-76. 

Time-out. Brooklyn.

It was just two points by a player in Brown who is used to scoring lots of points. But to see Durant turn the ball over and come up short in his attempted recovery as Brown, seven-plus years his junior, soared in for the uncontested jam had a Hollywood script feel to it. 

After all, Brown and Durant had prominent spots on the NBA’s rumor mill this summer with some believing the Celtics were willing to part ways with Brown for Durant. 

Sources within both organizations have repeatedly said there were never any substantive discussions about a deal, Boston preferring to continue watching the Jays - Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum - blossom into players to lead this franchise to their 18th NBA title. 

Sunday night’s 103-92 win over the Durant-led Brooklyn Nets was yet the latest evidence that was the right call for Boston as it extends its league-best record to 19-5.

Of all the decisions Brad Stevens has made in his time as the Celtics President of Basketball Operations, there may not be a better one than his decision to not pursue Durant if it meant losing Brown in the process. 

Tatum may be Boston’s best all-around player. 

But watching this team’s ascension this season, there may not be a more important player than Brown.

Why?

Because he has figured out the secret sauce to being a top-shelf talent who on most nights gets second billing even though his production and talent might suggest otherwise.

And if you don’t think Sunday’s game meant a little more than most to Brown, you didn’t watch the first quarter. 

That is when he delivered the kind of scoring barrage we have never seen out of him before, scoring 20 first-quarter points before finishing with a team-high 34 points. 

Tatum, a legit top-5 MVP candidate this season, had a ho-hum kind of game by Tatum standards as he finished with a double-double of 29 points and 11 rebounds. 

The stats are good, obviously. 

But more than the numbers, Tatum and Brown have figured out how to step to the forefront of NBA stars and do so without having to compromise their games and maybe most important, winning.

And the scary part for the rest of the NBA is as good as Tatum and Brown are now, it’s not a stretch to believe they still have levels of greatness they have yet to reach. 

Tatum can score from all points on the floor, but as he gets older and stronger he becomes even tougher to deal with on drives and finishes at the rim. 

And Brown’s ball handling may never become a strength of his. 

But it is noticeably better this season than we’ve seen in past years, and will likely get better as he gets older and continues to make it a point of emphasis during his offseason workouts. 

Until then, Brown and Tatum will continue to do what young stars do: continue to rise and take their rightful place as the NBA’s best dynamic duo.