Jaylen Brown gave away his birthday game ball to a Celtics rookie
BOSTON -- Jaylen Brown celebrated his 28th birthday Thursday night by leading the Boston Celtics to a road win over the Washington Wizards. But it's better to give than to receive, and the Celtics star had a gift for Boston rookie Baylor Scheierman after the victory.
Brown led the scoring charge for the Celtics with 27 points in the team's 122-102 win in the nation's capital, going 10-of-20 from the floor. He scored 16 of his points in the second half -- including 10 in the fourth quarter -- as Boston pulled away for the road victory.
Brown did a bit of everything for the Celtics against the Wizards, pulling down eight rebounds, dishing out three assists, and logging four steals. A stuffed stat line and another Boston win isn't a bad way for someone to spend their birthday.
Usually after such a performance, Brown would have been the recipient of the game ball. But he had other plans on Thursday night.
Brown gives Celtics game ball to rookie Scheierman
After sitting out the team's season-opening win over the Knicks on Tuesday, Celtics first-round pick Baylor Scheierman made his NBA debut Thursday night. The first-round pick entered the game for Brown with just over eight minutes left and Boston leading 113-83.
Scheierman missed his first shot -- a three-point attempt -- but scored his first NBA bucket with just over two minutes left on a nice give-and-go with JD Davidson. After grabbing a loose ball on the defensive end, Scheierman started a 2-on-1 with Davidson, which ended with the rookie making an easy layup off the backboard.
That was the only shot that he made from the floor, as Scheierman finished 1-for-3 with a pair of missed threes. But he knocked down a pair of free throws to finish his debut with four points and one rebound over his eight minutes.
After the win, Brown was the one to give Scheierman the game ball to remember his debut and the first points of his NBA career.
It made for a nice moment for the Celtics, who are now 2-0 on the season. And don't worry about Brown, who has plenty of game balls in his collection, not to mention a fancy new ring and a few trophies from last summer's title run. He also had a big birthday bash back at the State Room in downtown Boston last Sunday.
