When Jaylen Brown made a change to his look Sunday night, Jayson Tatum seemingly knew what was about to happen.
After a slow start in Celtics-Hawks Game 4 at State Farm Arena, Brown decided to take off his face mask, which he had been wearing since early February when he suffered a facial fracture. Brown was 1-for-7 from the floor with the mask on Sunday, but after ditching it, he converted on 11 of his 15 field-goal attempts. Brown’s 31 points helped the Celtics earn a 129-121 win and a commanding 3-1 lead in the first-round series.
Tatum, who also poured in 31 points in Game 4, sensed an energy shift when he noticed Brown was going maskless.
“I was talking to (Marcus) Smart when JB took his mask off,” Tatum told reporters, per MassLive. “I was like, ‘Oh (expletive), it’s go time.’ I knew he was gonna turn it up a notch.”
Removing the mask wasn’t a complex decision for Brown, who explained he simply wanted a “different look” after an underwhelming start to the game. And although Brown looked like his typical All-Star self once he got rolling, it took Smart a few moments to recognize his maskless teammate at first.
Brown and the Celtics can eliminate the Hawks at TD Garden on Tuesday night. If Boston takes care of business in Game 5, it will begin its next postseason challenge this weekend.
