NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT VS. CELTICS

May 23, 2023

Jaylen Brown

Boston Celtics

Game 4: Postgame

Boston Celtics 116, Miami Heat 99

Q. You guys were down nine early in the first, down nine early in the third and then you had that timeout early in the fourth after going on that little run to start the fourth quarter. You guys bounced back every time with big runs. What was the difference tonight that allowed you guys to be able to bounce back in those moments to turn this game around?

JAYLEN BROWN: Just stayed with it, didn't turn the ball over, and made the right reads, I think, and defensively we were pretty -- a lot better today, too.

Q. Jaylen, could you take us through that play in the fourth quarter where Derrick blocks a shot, gets it over to Tatum, Tatum to Horford and gets it to you under in the basket. It seemed like there were nine guys involved in that play. It just seemed like a perfect example of how you guys played as a team tonight. Can you put that into words for me?

JAYLEN BROWN: Yeah, that's what it's going to take. We need more plays like that, just to be flying around, play the game the right way on both sides of the ball, and have fun. I still think we can play a lot better. Getting ready for the next game is going to be fun.

Q. The way that they send help at you when you get into the paint, how important is it to kind of be patient with all that and trust the pass and everything like that?

JAYLEN BROWN: Yeah, I can't force it. They're trying to make me a playmaker, so tonight I think I did a better job of just getting into the paint and kicking it out. We got an advantage, made the next pass, and was able to get some open looks pretty much all night.

I think as that goes, as I continue to do that, my shot will start falling, and then we'll be able to go on a little run.

Q. You were caught in the corner at one point in the third quarter there and Joe called a timeout. Doesn't seem like something he does often, to stop a play while it's breaking down. How did you appreciate that, and what did he say in that timeout?

JAYLEN BROWN: He just got us composed. It looked like potentially we was in a bad spot, and he called a timeout. I thought that was a good decision.

Q. Jaylen, going back to your playmaking, you had a play where you were trying to get to that baseline pull-up that you usually go to to get rolling and you can't have it, so you kicked it out and got a three right away. How important is it for you guys that when the ball gets to the corners you don't just take that three that you get right away, you keep it moving?

JAYLEN BROWN: Yeah, the way they play defense, the way they play zone, the way they try to hide matchups, they try to make sure they keep their primary defenders up higher and try to hide their lesser defenders. It's been taking us a little while to kind of figure it out. It ain't always going to be you scoring the ball normally because they're not guarding us normally.

So, you just have to find ways to impact winning, and we've got to trust each other out there, and that's what we're figuring out as we continue on with this series.

Q. With all that's happened over the last couple of days with the Game 3 loss and you guys kind of coming together, what did this win mean to you guys as a group, to fight the way you did?

JAYLEN BROWN: Big win. Big win. Anytime you get the win in the Playoffs, it means a lot. Definitely with our backs against the wall, we didn't want to go out like that. So, we galvanized last night and we wanted to come out and win, and to be able to come out and execute and do it is big. So now we take it back home to the Garden and carry it on and try to get another win.

Q. You said earlier today, "Don't let us win tonight." That was your mentality. What did you want to take from this and spin forward?

JAYLEN BROWN: We want to come back to Miami. If that happens, I feel like we'll feel good about ourselves. The next one should be fun. It should be a big one, and we've got to come ready to play.

Q. You mentioned you guys galvanized last night. What does that entail?

JAYLEN BROWN: Just coming together, talking it out, and like a lot of times when you get to this point down 3-0, you see locker rooms and teams start to go in the other direction. We want to make sure that we stayed together. We wanted to make sure that we looked each other in the eye and came out today and put our best foot forward, and I'm proud of our group for doing that because you see teams with their back against the wall and you see they just collapse. You didn't see that tonight. You seen us come together, play defense, make the right plays, and I feel like that shows a lot about our character, especially in a game where everything is on the line and everything has went wrong in the last couple of games.

Q. You mentioned that the defense was better today. What did you think was different about it, and what did you like about the way you guys defended them?

JAYLEN BROWN: I think that we just -- one, we were a little bit more connected, and I think two, offensively we took our time a little bit more, and we had a better offense, so that stopped them from scoring in transition. We didn't turn the ball over, so that kind of didn't allow them to capitalize off turnovers, and I think that led to putting more pressure on them. I think that's what helped our defense.

Q. How much did it help for you guys to have some shots fall, particularly from three after a rough couple games to start the series?

JAYLEN BROWN: Great, great, and I still think we can shoot the ball a lot better. I think I had some good shots that didn't go in, but tomorrow, next game is a new game. I feel like as we continue to build confidence, if we keep seeing the ball go through the net, I think we're going to feel good about ourselves.

Q. How big of an impact did Grant have for you guys on both ends?

JAYLEN BROWN: Grant comes in and adds to winning. When he plays composed and keeps his head, he can be a tremendous asset. Just gotta keep talking to him, keep letting him know where the game is at, keep telling him to make the plays, play within his role, and I think did he that tonight.

Q. Marcus was in your ear a lot tonight. He was talking. What did he do, and how did you guys -- you talked about the galvanizing yesterday. How important was that? Because it seemed like after Game 3 you could have just made your Cancun plans and you didn't, you came back. How critical was that meeting, and Smart kind of always in your ear?

JAYLEN BROWN: Like you said, I think that showed our character. Like right now, obviously we underperformed in the last three games, and you start to hear all these stories come out about X, Y and Z, who knows where it actually comes from -- 99 percent of them is not true at all.

We wanted to stay together, and I think that was the emphasis last night before we played today, was making sure we was on the same page. We didn't want to come out and lay an egg. We wanted to come out and play together, wanted to come out and trust each other, come out and play some defense, have some pride about yourself and find a way to win a game. We're all more than capable of doing it. So, tonight we got it done.

Smart was in my ear, letting me know where the game is at. Just keep being aggressive, keep making the right plays. It ain't always got to be you putting the ball in the basket; that helped us win tonight. So just continue to make the right plays, and the game will open up for you, and that's what Smart does is just being a leader, be vocal, and we found a way to win.

Q. You mentioned that you galvanized last night, and a few people asked you about that. Just to put some color on that, was this an organized team activity? Did you all bump into each other in a diner? Just trying to get a sense on that. How did that play out?

JAYLEN BROWN: Just all together. Don't got to share no details, just we all together at some point during the day yesterday, we was all together as a team, and we wanted to come out and do what we did tonight.