BOSTON — Jaylen Brown will certainly be getting his second career All-Star nod this season. The Celtics star being an All-Star starter is less certain, given the talent surrounding him in the Eastern Conference.
But if there was ever a case to be made that Brown deserves to be a starter in Utah next month, it was done on Wednesday.
While Jayson Tatum has undoubtedly become the face of the Celtics, Brown’s continued growth as his co-star over the last year has made a critical difference in Boston’s rise to the elite. His growth was displayed in every way in Wednesday’s 125-114 victory over the Pelicans as he scored a season-high 41 points – his first 40-point game of the season – and added 12 rebounds to fuel the Celtics’ fourth consecutive win.
The Celtics didn’t have Robert Wiliiams or Marcus Smart, and they didn’t overlook the undermanned, pesky Pelicans, who were without stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. Brown’s outburst countered C.J. McCollum – who scored 38 points, which included six 3-pointers in the first half – and he got plenty of help from Jayson Tatum’s 31 points and Malcolm Brogdon’s 20 off the bench as the Celtics pulled away in the second half.
“We got a juggernaut in J.T/, but we got another one in J.B.,” Brogdon said.
