BOSTON — Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown wouldn’t change much about his defense on Trae Young’s game-winning shot in Game 5 except for the outcome of it going through the net.
Young got the ball in the backcourt with 7.1 seconds remaining before slowly getting to the spot he wanted to, even though it was 30 feet away from the basket. He pulled back to create separation from Brown before swishing the triple in Brown’s face to give Atlanta a two-point lead with 2.1 seconds left and lift the Hawks to a startling 119-117 victory at TD Garden on Tuesday.
Brown seemed somewhat caught off guard that Young decided to go with a long-range 3-point attempt in that moment as he admitted he looked to prevent Young from getting around him and driving to the basket.
“They didn’t need three. They only needed one,” Brown said. “Trae Young is pretty shifty getting to his right hand, so that’s what I was looking to take away. He stepped back and pulled one from the logo. It’s a tough basket, tough shot in the playoffs. Maybe I could have forced him toward the basket a little bit more if I picked him up a little bit better. Maybe we shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. Tough shot.”
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t find any fault in Brown’s defense on Young on that possession, understanding the difficulty in trying to get Young, who scored Atlanta’s final 14 points and finished with a game-high 38, off the three-point line.
Mazzulla had called for a defensive approach in which Marcus Smart was coming to double, but Young recognized it and got the shot off before Smart had any chance to put on added pressure.
“Anytime you get into a close game with these guys, hindsight’s 20/20 every time,” Mazzulla said. “Because if you take away the three, he gets in front of you, he stops short and he fouls you. He can shoot a floater. If you help up, he’s going throw a lob or kick out. I thought JB did a good keeping him in front, Smart was on his way up to go double to try to make him pass it and he made a big-time shot from deep.”
