With Jayson Tatum sidelined, Jaylen Brown leads well-balanced Celtics attack
BOSTON -- Jayson Tatum got a much-needed night off Sunday, resting his left ankle sprain as the Celtics hosted the Wizards at TD Garden. The Celtics offense didn't miss a beat, thanks to Jaylen Brown.
Brown got to be the alpha dog on Sunday evening, and he erupted for a team-high 36 points on 13-for-23 shooting in Boston's 130-121 victory. It was the most points that Brown has scored in a game this season, and the seventh time that he's hit the 30-point mark.
Before you shrug off a 130-point performance against the Wizards, it should be noted that Washington's defense has been fairly solid to start the season. They're surrendering just 110.7 per game (this is after the Boston offense had its way on Sunday), which is in the Top 10 in the NBA.
None of that mattered for Brown, who took the reins on Sunday and led a ridiculously balanced offensive attack for Boston. The dynamic swingman did the majority of his damage in the paint, going into full attack mode as the Wizards failed to conjure up anything to stop him. Brown scored all eight of his points in the first quarter a few feet away from the basket, and stuffed the stat sheet with three rebounds (including an offensive board) and an assist in the opening frame. Boston led by nine at the end of the quarter.
He had nine more points in the second quarter, adding a three-pointer to his pair of paint buckets, as the Celtics dropped 72 points in the first half. Brown's best output came in the third, when he scored 13 points to help balloon the Boston lead to 26 points.
When the Wizards cut that lead to nine points in the fourth quarter, Joe Mazzulla had Brown back out on the court. He put any chance of a Washington comeback to bed with a pair of driving layups, including a three-point play, with under three minutes to go.
Along with his 36 points, Brown pulled down five rebounds and passed out a pair of assists. He had just two turnovers, his third straight game with two or fewer giveaways, which is a promising sign after he had 20 turnovers over a four-game span just a few weeks ago.
Even better was Brown going a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line, a sure sign that he was feeling it on Sunday. The Celtics were perfect from the charity stripe, hitting all 26 of their free throws.
All the defensive attention that usually goes Tatum's way was affixed to Brown on Sunday, and it didn't matter one bit. And while he was leading the charge, everyone else was benefiting from the focus on No. 7.
Brown was one of seven Celtics players to score in double figures on Sunday, along with Malcolm Brogdon (17 points), Derrick White (15), Marcus Smart (14), Al Horford (14), Sam Hauser (14), and Luke Kornet (12). Overall, the team shot 55 percent from the floor (hitting 44 of their 80 attempts) and 47.1 percent (16-for-34) from three-point range. The Celtics dished out 25 assists on those 44 made baskets, making it a dozen straight games where Boston has racked up at least 20 dimes.
"Being able to maintain our level of play without our leader, our big dog, not being in the rotation, it was fun," Brown said after the victory. "It challenges everybody, it allows everybody to step up in their role. But we all have capabilities, we all are talented."
But it wasn't just the talent that was on display Sunday evening. The win and the offensive output without Tatum hammers home Boston's depth, which has been paramount to the team's 16-4 start. On a night when the team's leading scorer -- a guy averaging 30.5 points per game -- the Celtics still dominated.
Last November, this would have been penciled in as a scheduled loss. This year, it was nearly a no-doubt W shortly after things tipped off.
Nights like Sunday will allow Mazzulla to sleep easy when contemplating whether or not he should mix in a night off for his top players. There are no concerns when a guy like Tatum or Brown needs a load management night.
The rest of the bunch is more than capable of carrying that load -- and the team to a win.
