What Motivated Jaylen Brown Down Stretch In 50-Point Performance Vs. Magic

Jaylen Brown has been on the other end of too many games like Sunday evening’s against the Orlando Magic.

Coming off a statement win over a team with the best record in the NBA, the Boston Celtics had lost their grasp on a double-digit lead in the third quarter Sunday, instigating a comeback led by Jaylen Brown.

Boston went on an 18-4 run to force overtime where he scored 14 of those points. His takeover through overtime resulted in a career-high 50 points and a 116-111 win for Boston.

“We needed to win,” Brown said after his performance. “No way we could have lost this game — it wouldn’t have been good. Media wouldn’t have been good. So I wanted to get a win for everybody.”

Brown supported his scoring with 11 rebounds and four assists with a steal and two blocks. He shot 65% from the field, dominating down the stretch until he delivered the most noteworthy dagger — a 3-pointer that put Boston up 4 points.

It wasn’t until that point that the All-Star wing admitted he realized how close he was to a new scoring milestone. He just had his head down refusing to lose another close game.

“We’re trying to put 2021 behind us,” Brown said. “It’s a new year. We’re trying to start off on the right note. First game we got to win but we got to continue to build good habits as we welcome guys back into the lineup and things like that. We got to make a push to win some games here and I think we can do it.”