Holiday credits Brown’s leadership as Celtics maintain equilibrium in Game 1 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics put on a clinic in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, defeating the Dallas Mavericks 107-89. But the Mavs did make things interesting at one point, cutting the Celtics’ 21-point halftime lead to eight in the third quarter. However, Boston quickly crushed Dallas’ streak and according to Jrue Holiday, the Celtics have Jaylen Brown to thank for this.
“Stay balanced,” Holiday told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin about how the Celtics refused to let Dallas back into the game. “JB says we need to stay balanced, Al [Horford] telling us to stay balanced because we know runs happen in this game and 20 points is nothing so we withstood the blow and got [the lead] back to 20.”
While the 38-year-old Horford’s leadership is no surprise, it appears that Brown has really emerged as a leader since the departure of Marcus Smart. After an Eastern Conference Finals series against the Indiana Pacers that earned him the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, Brown has made it clear with his Game 1 performance that he shows no signs of slowing down.
“In that situation, I thought JB was the key for us,” Horford said of Brown’s message during the third-quarter timeout. “At the meeting he just told us that we had to make sure we refocused, that we stayed with it, that we stayed calm, and his words at that moment, JB’s words, I think they resonated with the group and refocused a little bit, and we were able to come out and really make a run in that third quarter.”
In addition to his leadership, Brown led the Celtics in scoring with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also strengthened the defense with three blocks and three steals, becoming the first Celtic in history to record such a statistical line in a finals game, while adding six rebounds and two assists.
Brown’s three blocks gave Boston a total of nine for the night, tying Dallas’ assist total.
With a Game 1 win under their belt and a 1-0 series lead, the odds are now in Boston’s favor: If the home team wins Game 1 of the Finals, they have the championship 79 percent of the time won.
The Celtics will look to carry their momentum into Sunday night when they face the Mavericks again for Game 2 of the NBA Finals — NBC Sports Boston’s coverage begins at 6:30 PM ET with Celtics Pregame Livewith tip-off at 8 p.m
