Jaylen Brown delivered the dagger in Game 3.
A right-elbow jumper with a minute left to push the Mavericks back to arm’s length in the tightest stretch of the NBA Finals. Brown rose above closing defense and the magnitude of the moment, capturing everything about his personal evolution with a single shot.
He’s tougher now. Stronger. Forged by the fires of playoff disappointment, unafraid and unrelenting.
So, too, are the Celtics.
During a historic playoff run, Boston has been motivated by the pain of past postseasons as much as the title dream ahead.
Start with Brown.
“Last year, just falling short on your home floor, it definitely hurt. It was embarrassing, in my opinion,” he said. “I felt like the team was relying on me. (Jayson Tatum) got hurt in Game 7 and I dropped the ball. To me, it was embarrassing. It drove me all summer, drove me crazy.”
Now, “crazy” is one of the few words fit for this Celtics’ campaign. A 64-win regular season. The most efficient offense in NBA history. The league’s second-ranked defense, a somehow overlooked foundation for one of the best statistical teams to ever take the floor, anywhere and in any era.
Yet it was that defense that powered them to a 3-0 Finals lead before Friday’s Game 4, when Dallas had yet to score 100 points in a single game all series. The same defense that the Miami Heat poked and prodded and finally broke in last year’s East Finals, with one Jimmy Butler drive after another Caleb Martin 3, on and on. The Heat, for the second time in four years, out-worked and out-smarted and out-toughed them, to move to the precipice of a title.
Now, the Heat are gone. Vanquished. Have been for a while. In the first round, the Celtics smashed Miami over one of the most lopsided five-game series ever played by point differential. Boston demolished old demons, then conquered bad habits versus Cleveland, Indiana and Dallas in consecutive series.
No more playing with their food, like going to six games versus the eighth-seeded Hawks last year or seven games against Philadelphia.
The Cavs in the second round? Dispatched in five.
The Pacers? Swept out the door.
“I think from our experiences over the past couple of years, the thing that we’ve really gotten a lot better at is not relaxing, not being complacent,” Tatum said. “From game to game or series to series, we always want more. Maybe in recent years we took things for granted at some points or were happy to make it to certain rounds, where (now) we’re not satisfied.”
Especially in the clutch.
Famous for their late-game breakdowns, particularly against Miami, the Celtics are now clutch killers. Boston entered Game 4 a perfect 6-0 in games that involved clutch possessions, defined by the NBA as those in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points. Every other playoff team this year suffered at least one clutch loss.
Their 126.9 offensive rating in the clutch would have led the NBA by a country mile during the regular season. So, too, would have their 80.0 points allowed per 100 possessions on defense. They shared the ball — posting a second-ranked 61.9% assist percentage in the play — and locked in at the other end.
Almost unthinkable numbers for a team that two years ago crumbled facing the steady play of more seasoned Warriors and then a tougher Heat squad last spring. The Celtics refortified themselves this offseason by trading for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, but most importantly, they grew with Brown and Tatum. Now, they are the tougher, more seasoned team with a steadier hand in the final minutes.
And somehow, their best may still be yet to come.
“It’s just an honor. It’s a honor to wear this jersey. It’s an honor to follow in the footsteps of some of the best players ever. Being a part of Celtics history entails that you’ve got to win a championship. Every kid growing up playing basketball dreams about being in the Finals, dreams about winning a championship. I’m no different than anybody else.” — Jayson Tatum
The Celtics had perfect practice attendance Friday morning, including Kristaps Porzingis. … Coach Joe Mazzulla teased reporters during a media session before Game 4, asking after a series of questions about the team’s mindset: ““Are you guys all gonna find creative ways to ask the same question?” … The Mavericks entered Game 4 as 1-point home favorites.