Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown considered his performance in Monday night’s 112-102 loss to the Atlanta Hawks substandard at best.
“That was probably one of my worst games of the season, in my opinion,” Brown told reporters, per CLNS Media.
Brown rejoined the Celtics after sitting out two straight games with left Achilles tendinitis. He watched teammates officially secure Boston’s playoff berth against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night from the bench, then returned to action. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum sat with right Achilles injury management on the second night of a back-to-back, giving Brown the floor.
But Brown struggled, missing each of his first four shot attempts in Atlanta.
“I missed a lot of easy shots, but it was a very physical game,” Brown said. “Playoff-like atmosphere and I didn’t think we adjusted quick enough. They came to play. The refs let a lot of stuff go and we didn’t adjust to the physicality. So, a good game to learn from.”
It was the first time all season Brown had missed consecutive games, and the rust became increasingly difficult to shake off throughout the night. Brown made only nine of 29 field goal attempts, going 8-for-14 from the free-throw line en route to a 29-point performance he wasn’t satisfied with. Even with 10 rebounds and nine assists nearly pushing him to a triple-double, Brown felt he didn’t play up to standard, and the Celtics suffered as a result of it.
In the third quarter, with 9:21 remaining, Brown missed a right-handed layup that would’ve broken a 60-60 tie for the Celtics. Nearly two minutes later, he missed a pull-up 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two points. In the fourth quarter, after the Celtics fought back to cut into a 21-point Hawks advantage, Brown missed another layup that would’ve made it a 10-point game with 4:06 left to play.
No matter where Brown turned, he couldn’t find offensive success. He shot 3-of-9 from three, missed six layups, and committed a game-leading six turnovers, logging a minus-5 rating.
Brown’s frustration over failing to deliver reminded him where to turn when things aren’t going his way.
“Mindset,” Brown said. “You know, you can’t throw in the towel. If you’re not feeling up to your best, still gotta do what you need to do. Sometimes you just gotta work your way through it — rely on your teammates. But if you’re getting good shots and good looks, you just gotta trust that, and keep playing aggressive basketball.”
Rather than a scheduled loss, the Celtics failed to capitalize on several opportunities to break ahead. The final 12 minutes were a valiant effort, ending in an underwhelming finish, not because the Hawks played exceptionally, but because Boston repeatedly fumbled its chances. Brown couldn’t come through with the momentum-shifting plays needed to bail the Celtics out in the crucial final minutes of regulation.
In the end, Brown’s 31 percent shooting output was his worst since Jan. 5 against the Chicago Bulls (25 percent).
“This game was on me,” Brown confessed. “I got to be better. Probably one of my worst performances in a while, and that cost us the game.”
With seven games left in the regular season, Brown clarified that his left Achilles tendinitis, sustained during last week’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, wasn’t a concern. Although some of his misses were “uncharacteristic,” as he put it, the injury didn’t affect his overall comfort and ability to perform in Atlanta.
“I felt OK. I felt fine,” Brown said. “I had a couple of plays where I took some hard falls, but overall I felt fine.”
