Jaylen Brown reveals Celtics' mentality as Jayson Tatum-less Boston goes up 2-0

As many expected, the Boston Celtics kept their hot hand entering the NBA postseason, securing their second win over the Orlando Magic in the first round. Entering Game 2, there were questions surrounding Boston as Jayson Tatum missed the first playoff game of his career, but Jaylen Brown put the questions to rest.

Brown, who led all scorers on Wednesday night, spoke on the team's mentality playing without the likes of Jayson Tatum after leading the injury-riddled Celtics to a 109-100 win over Orlando.

"We got to take care of the ball a little bit better," Brown said. "We just got to keep playing basketball and let the outcome be determined by us... We're a team. We win as a team, we lose as a team. We've got a lot of talent."

Tatum is expected to return for Game 3, as Boston travels to Orlando for Games 3 and 4. Though the Celtics are largely banged up, with injuries to their cornerstone in Tatum, along with Kristaps Porzingis, who played through a head injury in Game 2, Boston's depth has put it in a strong position with a 2-0 lead in the series.

Jaylen Brown shines in Game 2 with Jayson Tatum sidelined

With Jayson Tatum sidelined, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzula made Jaylen Brown the focal point of Boston's offense. Brown shined in Tatum's absence, leading the game in scoring with an efficient double-double performance.

Jaylen Brown finished with 36 points, shooting 12-of-19 from the field, connecting on five of his seven 3-point attempts. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out five assists, along with a steal on the defensive end. Down the stretch, he scored seven points in the fourth quarter as Boston created separation from the Magic, leading up to a Game 2 victory.

Brown rebounded after somewhat of an inefficient performance in Game 1, scoring just 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting and will have the hot hand entering Game 3 as Boston travels to Orlando.

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