NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

September 19, 2020

Jaylen Brown

Boston Celtics

Game 3: Postgame

Celtics - 117, Heat - 106

Q. You've got the ability to score in so many ways, but it was clear that you were attacking the basket tonight, I mean, with the dunks that we saw from your team. How much of that was a message that you were trying to send and how important was it to control the paint tonight?

JAYLEN BROWN: Very, very important to control the paint and just had to get back to what I do best. That's what I came into the league doing, you know. Different matchups, different situations call for me to be able to have to be versatile and play different roles on this team. But what I do best is get to the basket, so I wanted to come out and just be the best version of myself.

Q. Before -- or just now, Brad had said he was curious to see how you guys responded from Game 2. What was required for you guys to get to where you were at the end of Game 2 here to the result you had tonight in Game 3?

JAYLEN BROWN: Just about honing in, focusing. There's some great guys in that locker room. A lot of emotion, a lot of passion. But we're a family. We are here for each other at the end of the day. So we exemplified that when we came out together. We stayed together during some tough moments. They made a big run at the end of the second quarter. Tyler Herro made some big plays. But we didn't hang our head, we kept our will high and we persevered to win this game.

Q. You talked the other day about you guys just needing to play a full 48 minutes. Was this closer to the kind of effort that you want to see?

JAYLEN BROWN: Yeah, it was, I think, much better for sure. I think we still have a lot of improvement. I think we got, towards the end of the game, we can finish games better. I don't think we finished today as well as we would have liked, but I think we played some good basketball today all the way through. We just got to finish games a little bit better.

Q. You guys have been used to playing every other day throughout these series. Does it change things out for you guys now that you have more time off?

JAYLEN BROWN: I don't think so. I think basketball is basketball. It's good to always get some rest. I think that will be good for us coming off a tough series versus Toronto as well. I'm looking forward to the next game. I think we all are. So, we got to keep our minds locked in and engaged. The game doesn’t start on Wednesday. The game starts now. So, getting ready and getting prepared for the next one is just as important.

Q. You said the other night you couldn't wait to play Game 3. You were really looking forward to it. The last 48 hours, how has the preparation, what was going through your mind to get ready for this? Obviously one of the bigger games you played in?

JAYLEN BROWN: To be honest, I didn't get much sleep the last 48 hours. I was so antsy to get back and play basketball. I don't think the last two games exemplify what this team is about. So, I couldn't wait to come out and be the best version of myself and try to add to a win. And I'm glad to be a part of this team and this organization and I'm proud of how we responded.

Q. You guys did a good job of responding to Miami runs and cutting them off at, like, 10 or 11 rather than letting them get bigger. What was the difference tonight in allowing you to do that and how much did having Gordon Hayward back help in that regard?

JAYLEN BROWN: Gordon was great. Welcome back for Gordon. Just having an extra body, another guy that can make plays was huge for us. He had some big plays during this game and he's only going to continue to go up. I think that just being together and being locked in and not relaxing, not taking a break, because as soon as you turn your head or you relax those guys are flying off shooting threes, so got to be locked in the whole time to find ways to win.

Q. You've mentioned it, but how much are you willing to share, what were the last 48 hours like? I mean, we have heard rumors and talks of meetings and phone calls and stuff. I mean, what can you tell us?

JAYLEN BROWN: That it was probably blown out of proportion. Like, we are in a bubble. There's a lot of grown men. There's a lot of passion and emotion going on. But at the end of the day, we're a family. We represent this organization. We represent each other and we won't ever let anything come in between that. We’ve got a tremendous opportunity and we understand that and nothing's going to stop us from trying to maximize that.