"Moments that can make or break you" - Jaylen Brown concedes Celtics must 'reassemble' to fend off Mavs comeback
Boston Celtics All-Star guard Jaylen Brown admitted that the team dropped the ball in finishing off the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday. He said they must turn things around in the next game, lest they find themselves in a position to be on the wrong side of history.
The visiting Celtics were looking to put the finishing touches on the NBA Finals in Game 4 at American Airlines Center after going up 3-0 in the series. However, they found themselves outplayed big time by the Mavericks, who ran away with a 122-84 victory to remain in contention.
During the postgame interview session, Jaylen Brown spoke about what went down in Game 4 and the need for them to bounce back next time around.
The three-time NBA All-Star said, as shared by The Athletic's Jared Weiss on X/Twitter:
"These are the moments that can make you or break you. We gotta reassemble."
The Celtics came out flat on both ends of the court at the start of Game 4 and were not able to recover.
They shot 29-of-80 (36.2%) from the field and 14-of-41 (34.1%) from deep. Boston was also outrebounded (52-3) and had 13 turnovers.
Jayson Tatum finished with a team-high 15 points. Jaylen Brown had 10 on 3-of-12 shooting and 1-of-5 from 3 in 28 minutes of play.
Boston will once again try to close things out in Game 5 at TD Garden on Monday in front of its fans.
Jaylen Brown discusses Celtics' struggles in last 2 NBA Finals games
The Boston Celtics have the crucial 3-1 lead in the finals but struggled in the last two games. It is something that was not lost on Brown, who said they must act quickly to see their championship goals through.
Before their 122-84 blowout in Game 4 on Friday, back in Game 3, the Celtics nearly blew a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter but hung on to win 106-99.
Speaking to reporters after Game 4, Brown spoke of their struggles of late and how it is a concern that they have to address.
He said (via NBA.com):
"We don't dismiss it. We're going to learn from it. We're going to see how and why, exactly where the game was won and lost. And then we take those experiences and then when we come out and we play like our life depends on it. Because it does."
In the NBA Finals, Brown is averaging 20.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals.