Celtics’ Jrue Holiday Clarifies Jaylen Brown Remark After Game 2

Before talking about his monster performance in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Celtics guard Jrue Holiday wanted to set the record straight.

Holiday was swept into the mind games attempt by Jason Kidd, who called Jaylen Brown Boston’s best player after Dallas dropped Game 1 on Thursday night. The two-time All-Star initially appeared to confirm the Mavericks coach’s assessment, which some perceived as a slight against Celtics franchise cornerstone Jayson Tatum.

Joe Mazzulla Saw This As Clear ‘Play Of The Game’ In Celtics NBA Finals Game 2 Win

Jun 10, 2024

Kidd’s gamesmanship didn’t faze the C’s, who claimed a 105-98 win in Game 2 behind a team-high 26 points and 11 rebounds from Holiday. And immediately after taking the postgame podium Sunday night, the 33-year-old made sure to clear the air.

“If I could say something before we jump in. I want to address the comment that was made yesterday,” Holiday told reporters, per MassLive. “I feel like people kind of took that out of context. I’ve been hearing that I prefer JB over JT and that’s not what that was. I like to praise my teammates. I like to praise my teammates when they’re playing well, and I feel like that’s what I did my best to do.”

Brown and Tatum both played pretty well in Boston’s ninth straight victory. The former was Boston’s second-highest scorer (21 points) behind Holiday, while the latter was one rebound shy (18 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds) shy of his second triple-double of the postseason.

The Celtics will try to keep things rolling Wednesday night when they visit the Mavericks for Game 3. Tipoff from American Airlines Center is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.