Jaylen Brown took off his mask and then took off against the Hawks in Game 4

BOSTON -- The last time we saw Jaylen Brown's face while he was on the basketball court was in early February. The Celtics guard had been donning a protective mask ever since he caught a stray elbow from teammate Jayson Tatum on February 8.

Whether he was masked or not, he played like Jaylen Brown. And in 2023, that meant he was enjoying the best season of his career.

But something was a bit off to start Sunday night's Game 4 against the Hawks in Atlanta. Brown started the contest just 1-for-7 from the floor, and he felt the need to make a change.

So he decided to take off the mask for good. And when the mask came off at the 9:02 mark of the second quarter, that's when Brown really took off.

He hit 11 of his 15 shots the rest of the way en route to a 31-point showing in Boston's 129-121 victory. Teammates had no problem recognizing that Jaylen Brown, though they did have a spot of trouble just before the unmasked version of Brown hit the floor.

"I was on the bench and after the timeout, we were looking for Jaylen," Marcus Smart said after the victory. "We couldn't find him because he didn't have his mask on. Then I was like, "Where is he at?' And then we see him sitting in the corner."

When everyone saw that Brown had ditched the mask, they knew something big was about to go down.

"That was go time," said Jayson Tatum, who also had 31 points for Boston in the win. "I knew he was going to turn it up a notch."

Brown made all three of his shots the rest of the half; an open 3-pointer, a nice transition layup, and a dunk just before the halftime break. 

He missed his first shot of the third quarter, but then made his other four attempts in the frame. He did all of his damage around the basket, putting in 10 points in the quarter.

But the Celtics led by just five entering the final quarter. Luckily, Brown saved his best for last, erupting for a dozen points in the fourth. He knocked down a three from Tatum to start the frame, and then tipped in his own miss with just under seven minutes left to put Boston on top by 10 points.

After Trae Young answered a Tatum three with a triple of his own with 1:55 remaining, trimming Boston's lead to 11, Brown canned another three to build that lead back up to an insurmountable 14. His driving dunk with 49 seconds left was the final nail in the coffin for the Hawks in Game 4.

Brown finished his night 12-for-22, hitting three of his four 3-point attempts while also knocking down four of his five free throws. He added four rebounds, three assists, and committed just two turnovers in the Boston victory.

After the game, Brown explained why he chose to ditch the mask after his cool start.

"Maybe it was all in my head. I just needed a different look," said Brown. "I just felt like to start the game, I didn't like the looks that I got. So I just needed something to switch up a little bit and as soon as I took it off, things started to turn around a little bit.

"When I took it off, it gave me the edge that I needed," he added. 

Brown's edge seemed contagious, because the Celtics played with an edge the entire second half. Any time the Hawks tried to cut Boston's lead and make it interesting, the Celtics offense answered. When they needed to make a stop on defense, they did just that.

The Celtics now return home with a 3-1 series lead and a chance to end the Hawks on Tuesday night. In addition to seeing a potential series-clincher, Boston fans will get their first glimpse of an unmasked Jaylen Brown in nearly three months.

But it hasn't really mattered if Brown has been masked or not this season. He's on an incredible run this year, and will look to keep that going Tuesday night in Game 5 and send the Celtics to the second round of the playoffs.