Jaylen Brown knew the Boston Celtics were in a bad spot when Jimmy Butler canned three free throws to put the Miami Heat ahead with three seconds remaining in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night.
And while the Celtics needed to draw up a game-winning play in the huddle to kept their season alive following Butler’s makes, Brown turned toward other measures.
“In all honesty, at that point I’m in full prayer mode,” Brown told reporters with a laugh, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “Whatever prayer I got, whatever dua I got, reciting it over and over in my head. I know our season was on the brink and I’m just grateful to God that we were able to get that win.”
Brown’s prayers were certainly answered thanks to an improbable play by Derrick White that lifted the Celtics to a pulse-pounding 104-103 victory that forces a winner-take-all Game 7 back in Boston.
White crashed a missed 3-point attempt from Marcus Smart and got his put-back attempt through the net as the buzzer sounded. It took video replay to confirm White got his shot off in time before the Celtics went into celebration mode on the court.
“It all happened so fast,” said Brown, who finished with 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and three assists. “I couldn’t really tell. Smart shot it, and I thought it was good. And then Derrick White, like a flash of lightning just came out of nowhere and saved the day, man. Incredible play.”
The Celtics are just the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after being down 3-0 in the series. But Boston will look to do what no other team has done before and complete a historic comeback Monday night.
And to do that, it might require some more prayers from Brown.
