Jaylen Brown Returns For Celtics, Dunks 36 Seconds After Checking In
BOSTON (CBS) -- Welcome back, Jaylen Brown.
The Celtics waited until late Thursday to upgrade Brown to probable for Game 2 against Philadelphia, but Brad Stevens wasted no time to call on his young guard.
After missing Monday's Game 1 with a nasty hamstring strain, Brown made his way off the bench at the 7:14 mark in the first quarter. It took him 36 seconds to test his hammy and bring the TD Garden crowd to their feet.
Brown showed off his usual athleticism when he chased down a Dario Saric turnover, winning a footrace for the loose ball at halfcourt. He gracefully drove to the hoop and finishing with an emphatic jam to ignite the crowd:
"I did everything to kind of aggravate it," Brown said of jam. "I bent down, stopped, accelerated, picked up the ball and exploded up for the dunk. I probably made everybody a little nervous with that one."
The dunk was a much-needed injection of energy for the Celtics, cutting an early deficit to four. Brown let out a slight grimace after landing, but didn't seem to be too bothered by the hamstring strain he suffered Saturday night in Boston's Game 7 win over the Bucks. Brown appeared to get more comfortable as the contest went on, and his first-half jam wasn't the only highlight of his evening.
Brown also got some air on a transition dunk early in the fourth quarter:
"I just appreciate the coaching staff for trusting me out there and trusting my word when I told them I was fine," said Brown. "They kept me out there a little bit and I got warmer and warmer, and then I kind of got comfortable. After you get up and down the floor a few times, you start to feel better."
He did, however, airball a free throw in the second quarter, which comedian Kevin Hart thought was pretty funny:
Brown played 25 minutes in Boston's 108-103 win, scoring 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting. He was one of six Celtics players to score in double digits as Boston erased a 22-point deficit in the first half to take a 2-0 series lead.
