Jaylen Brown shouldered the burden of responsibility on the Boston Celtics’ disappointing exit in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.
With Jayson Tatum hobbling due to his unfortunate sprained left ankle which occurred in the earliest portion of the do-or-die matchup, Brown admitted that he didn’t elevate his game well as the team’s secondary star.
“Just a terrible game,” Brown said. “When my team needed me most, like JT [Tatum] hurt his ankle at first play of the game. You can see it like swelling up and he couldn’t move out there. It was tough for him.
“My team turned to me to make plays and etcetera, and I came up short. I fell and it’s tough. I give credit to Miami, but it just a terrible job.”
Tatum churned a lowly 14 points with a justifiable bad ankle, but Brown was extremely disappointing by tallying 19 points in a horrible 8-of-23 shooting.
He was also sloppy in taking care of the possession with eight turnovers. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Brown became the fifth player in postseason records with 8+ turnovers in Game 7 since individual turnovers became official in 1977-78.
Amid the hellish performance he portrayed and the eventual failure that came in for the C’s, Brown still has that faith that they can be able to bounce back from the setback.
“Take it on the chin. Learn from it. As hard as this is to swallow, you get better,” he said. “Tough one. Tough one for me. Tough one for our team. Tough one for our organization. You learn, it’s part of the journey. This is not the end.”
