“Tell em’ to stop playing with you.” - Jaylen Brown’s mic’d up sound bite reveals message to Jayson Tatum amid dominant 33-point night
The duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum led the Boston Celtics to a dominant 106-93 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Celtics regained home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference semifinals following the Game 3 win.
Tatum delivered his most impressive performance of the playoffs, amassing 33 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Brown also shined brightly alongside him, scoring 28 points on an efficient 13 for 17 from the field, adding nine rebounds and three assists.
During the game, ESPN equipped Brown with a microphone. In a captured moment during a break in the action, Brown was heard offering supportive words to Tatum, who had been struggling to hit his stride in the postseason until that game.
"Tell them to stop playing with you," Brown told Tatum, "I'm Big Deuce. I'm Big Deuce. Come on."
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum overwhelmed Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3
The Celtics, led by a stellar performance from Jayson Tatum, secured a 13-point victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. With this win, which was their third by double digits this postseason, the Celtics now have a 2-1 series advantage.
Boston took an early lead, propelled by Jayson Tatum's rapid 12 points in the opening quarter. The Celtics nearly widened the gap several times before halftime.
However, Donovan Mitchell was pivotal in keeping the Cavaliers competitive. Mitchell scored 23 of his total 33 points in the first half, sinking six 3-pointers, including an impressive step-back three in the last minute that left Derrick White flustered and kept the Cavaliers within single digits at halftime.
The Celtics surged at the beginning of the second half, initiating an 8-0 run that prompted Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff to call a timeout less than two minutes into the period.
Their advantage quickly expanded to 17 points, signaling the start of a rout. The timeout proved ineffective. The Celtics extended their lead to 23 points before the Cavaliers managed to score in the second half — that score being a straightforward floater from Mitchell. While that shot slightly ignited the Cavaliers’ offense, leading them on a 15-4 run, they still entered the final quarter trailing by 15 points.
In a last-ditch effort, the Cavaliers briefly cut the deficit to single digits at the start of the fourth quarter, but it was too late. The Celtics quickly countered, aided by a long-distance logo 3-pointer from Payton Pritchard, and sealed the 13-point victory without any trouble in the closing stretch.