NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT VS. CELTICS

May 27, 2023

Jaylen Brown

Boston Celtics

Game 6: Postgame

Celtics 104, Heat 103

Q. Jaylen, what was your viewpoint of that final play there, and what was the reaction in the locker room after you guys pulled that out?

JAYLEN BROWN: It all happened so fast. I couldn't really tell. I know Smart shot it, and I thought it was good. Then Derrick White like a flash of lightning just came out of nowhere and saved the day, man. It was just an incredible play.

Q. How are you guys feeling after that?

JAYLEN BROWN: Excited, grateful. It means nothing if we come and lay an egg on our home floor. Still focused, but excited that we came here and did what we said we was going to do.

Q. When you pull out a win like this, when it looked like it was gone, what kind of boost does that give you heading into Game 7?

JAYLEN BROWN: It gives you a supreme boost in confidence, man. It doesn't get too much worse than being down 0-3. We feel like we've been to hell and back. We feel like we can face any adversity that gets thrown at us in the duration of the game or the duration of the season or in the postseason. It all means nothing if we don't come out and give our best effort on our home floor on Monday night.

Q. When you guys went up, I don't want to say it was a comfortable lead, but you had a pretty decent margin in the fourth quarter, gave it all away, Jimmy hits the three free throws. What's going through your mind when that happens, just kind of like wow, that happened quick, and then can you take us through the shift in emotions as White closed it out?

JAYLEN BROWN: In all honesty, at that point, I'm in full prayer mode. Whatever prayer I got, whatever dua I got, reciting it over and over in my head.

I knew our season was on the brink, and I'm just grateful to God that we was able to get the win.

Q. Jaylen, I know Game 6 just ended, but you yourself have referenced Game 7 a couple of times now. Without the obvious, which is the place is going to be loud and rocking, can you put into words really what the atmosphere is going to be like with Game 7?

JAYLEN BROWN: Man, I can only imagine. I know these fans, you can hear them here in Miami, so I can't even imagine what it's going to be like for Game 7. It's going to be huge. The best two words in sports is "Game 7," and our home crowd, I know they're going to bring the energy, so I'm excited.

Q. Jaylen, Coach Mazzulla was just saying that the togetherness is what's really helped you guys come from this entire deficit. How would you summarize the way that you guys have come all the way back to force this Game 7?

JAYLEN BROWN: You know, it just takes togetherness. Like everything was going wrong. That's when you start to see the character of yourself. That's when you start to see the character of your group. Don't measure a man when everything is going well; measure a team or a group or an individual when adversity hits.

It hit us like a storm. Like can't get no worse in the Playoffs, and how we've kind of been playing, and look at how we responded. Being down three games, nobody has ever been able to come back from that as of yet, but it's only, what, four or five teams that's even been able to force a Game 7. That just tells you that the group that we have is unique. The group that we have is special.

Sometimes you need a little bit of luck to bring it home, and tonight was an amazing game and an incredible play at the end.

Q. For you personally, in foul trouble in the second half, and then as a team you guys were in the penalty for the last eight minutes in the third quarter. How were you able to maintain your poise and come back mentally?

JAYLEN BROWN: Just had to refocus. At times during the game, that crowd gets into it. Those guys on that Miami Heat side, they play hard. I feel like I lost focus a little bit at a point during the game, and when I came out of halftime, I wanted to make sure I regained my focus. Got in foul trouble but just stayed in the mind frame that I needed to, to help my team, and I helped us pull out a win.

Q. You mentioned you guys fighting through adversity. You guys had literally your worst three-point shooting game of the season, shot 7 of 35. How were you able to overcome that and be able to pull this game out despite the fact that you guys weren't able to get anything going?

JAYLEN BROWN: Defense, defense, defense. Our defense kept us in games, and defense is why there's going to be a Game 7. We held them, the first three games I think they were averaging above 115. Last three games it's been around 100. I think defense is the key. Defense has made the biggest difference.

Q. You talked about after Game 4 how you guys needed to kind of get together and kind of reconnect with each other and find especially your defensive connectivity. How crucial was that moment for you guys to kind of just forget about everything on the court and focus on sticking together?

JAYLEN BROWN: That moment, that small instance, that small moment really signifies everything that we're seeing right now. In that moment, we could have chose to be like, throw in the towel, and I think like that's what everybody was expecting or seeing or feeling, that that was coming. But no, that's not how we wanted to go out. We appreciate all the fans who supported us to get to this point.

Now, we're not all the way there. We've got to still come out and win Game 7.