NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. MAVERICKS

June 16, 2024

Jaylen Brown

Boston Celtics

Practice Day

Q. You've been really great at bouncing back from tough losses all season. Never lost three games in a row this year. What's been different about this year's team in terms of that ability to bounce back and be resilient?

JAYLEN BROWN: We have a great group, resilient group, and we don't like to lose. We do our best to prepare each and every night, each and every game, and we look forward to the next game on the schedule.

Q. Joe talked about the Mavericks dictating things when they are playing their best, and you guys were dictating things for the majority of the first three games. How do you get back to that, and when they have the momentum, how do you try to take that back mid-game?

JAYLEN BROWN: Just by being disciplined. Controlling the pace. Felt like there was a lot of stoppages in Game 4 where they were blowing the whistle a lot. But we want to get up and create more of a pace to the game, and I think that helps dictate.

Q. How much, the loss in Game 4, did it impact your confidence level, and what did you guys talk about in order to forget that game?

JAYLEN BROWN: I think we are ready for Game 5. I think that's the best answer that I got. I think that we're ready. We're at home, and we're looking forward to it.

Q. I want to ask about your relationship with the city of Boston. I know you're very active in the community and have been for several years. Since you got drafted, how has your relationship with the city grown, and what's it like to represent the city wearing the Celtics' colors?

JAYLEN BROWN: It's definitely a blessing to be here, to represent the Celtics, my family, the organization, the community, our greater community. It's an honor that I don't take lightly. So just to come out every night and play for something, for what I represent, I think that matters.

My relationship with Boston has grown. I've been here for almost nine years now, since I was 18, 19 years old. I've grown up. I've become a man here. Boston is special. I'm looking forward to Game 5.

Q. So much of this series has been a referendum on past experiences and how you and the Celtics apply it to the present. I was wondering just in real time what experience you gain from Game 4 that you can relay looking ahead to Game 5 tomorrow night?

JAYLEN BROWN: Just that you can't take it for granted, and it's going to be difficult. You're going to have to fight and just stay in the moment. That's what matters the most. We come out and be a team. Win as a team, lose as a team. Just come out and be the best versions of ourselves.

That's the only experience that you can really experience that you can really speak from in the playoffs. At this level, you have some very talented basketball players who are going to be on the floor, and you've got to bring it every single night. And if you don't, you can see what happens.

Q. As a leader, what do you say to the guys over the last day or so leading up to Game 5? You're intense and you seem ready. How do you get the rest of the guys all on the same page for this special opportunity?

JAYLEN BROWN: This is what we all work for. We are at the precipice of completing what we set out to do at the beginning of the season.

So I think it's not difficult to get everybody in that locker room on the same page right now. It just needs to remind everybody that it's just one possession at a time. We do it together and we fight like our lives depends on it, and I think we'll be all right.