Tell us how you really feel, Jaylen Brown.
The Celtics star appeared to take the team’s Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Knicks rather hard after the division rival wrapped up the series with a 119-81 drubbing in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
Brown paced the Celtics with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists before fouling out, but it was far from enough to keep the defending NBA champions’ season alive.
Instead, the Knicks advanced to play the Pacers in their first Eastern Conference finals since the two teams matched up in 2000.
“Things didn’t go our way this year,” Brown said.
“It’s unfortunate, but we hold our head up regardless. Losing the Knicks, you know, feels like death. But I was always taught there’s life after death, so we’ll get ready for whatever’s next in the journey.”
The Celtics played the past two games without superstar Jayson Tatum, who tore his Achilles tendon late in the team’s Game 4 loss.
Boston rallied around their fallen leader for 127-102 Game 5 drubbing of the Knicks in Boston, but couldn’t muster the same effort Friday. Tatum’s availability for next season will also be in question.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Kristaps Porzingis was also compromised during the series, dealing with a mystery illness that is the lasting effects of an upper-respiratory illness that caused him to miss eight games in March.
He didn’t play during the second half twice during the series. Celtics coach Joe Mazzula said after Game 5 that Porzingis “couldn’t breathe” and was only available in an emergency.
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The former Knick had just four points in 11 minutes in Game 6.
For a Celtics team that finished second in the East and was hoping to go back-to-back, the season is a massive disappointment.
“It sucks,” guard Derrick White said told reporters. “You’ll never get this season back. You’re never going to have the exact same team again. So obviously there were some highs and obviously some lows of the season, but at the moment it’s just kinda down.”