LOS ANGELES — The Celtics are playing some of the best basketball in the NBA right now after pulling off their third straight win against the Lakers Sunday night in a 111-89 blowout victory.
Boston has won eight of their last nine games overall with seven of those victories coming by double digits. Jaylen Brown has been front and center in that stretch, including scoring a game-high 32 points along with 8 rebounds and 7 assists in Sunday’s win.
That type of play has caught the attention of Lakers coach JJ Redick, who raved about the All-Star forward before Boston’s win on Sunday.
“I don’t think anybody should be surprised at how good of a season Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard are having. Jaylen, in particular,” Redick said. “Conference Finals, MVP, Finals MVP, so much to carry as the No. 1 guy each night. He’s just improved so much year to year. It’s remarkable.
“I was watching personnel tape yesterday and I went on our internal site and was looking at his drive numbers going left versus right. Everyone says he can’t go left and there are just no holes in his game.”
That type of praise is also coming from inside the Celtics locker room as Brown has helped make Boston the biggest surprise of the NBA season with a 37-19 record despite Jayson Tatum remaining sidelined.
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“I mean, he’s always been a great leader,” Payton Pritchard said after the win. “But it’s shown more this year because we’ve had such a veteran team like I said that now it’s a younger group. Guys thinking that we’re going to be a gap year and stuff like that. He’s leading us and doing a hell of a job.”
Brown is now averaging a career-high 29.2 points per game after Sunday’s win.
“I feel like I’m the best two-way player in the world,” Brown said. “I play both ends of the court night to night. I’m available, which is hard to do. I’m a leader. I help lead my team, empower my team to come out and play confidently. Stuff that doesn’t always show up on the analytics. And I’m a winner. I come out and try to win every single night. So I’m grateful. It’s an honor to play in the Celtics-Lakers rivalry. It’s an honor for LeBron, who’s arguably the best player to ever play the game, giving me some high praise. So I’m just grateful. I wake up every morning, grateful, humbled in the position that I’m able to be in and I come out and put my best foot forward every single day.”
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