The Boston Celtics were in a bit of trouble during the fourth quarter of Sunday's Game 1 against the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden.
Despite leading by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, the Celtics found themselves trailing in the middle part of the fourth quarter. The Nets led 107-102 with 4:18 remaining in the game as Kyrie Irving was in the midst of scoring 19 of his 39 points in the quarter.
So many times early in the season they crumbled in crunch time with bad shot selection, too much isolation on offense, frustrating turnovers, etc. The late-game execution was lacking.
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But the Celtics didn't fold in Game 1. Instead, they raised their level of play on both ends of the floor and emerged with a 115-114 win after Jayson Tatum's buzzer-beating layup.
How did the Celtics pull through the adversity they faced in the fourth quarter Sunday? Jaylen Brown's message in a huddle helped.
What did he say? Check out the video below:
Brown had an up-and-down first three quarters, but he really started to make an impact over the final 12 minutes.
His 3-pointer that trimmed the Nets' lead from 107-102 to 107-105 with 4:05 left was huge. He also scored a quick layup to cut Brooklyn's advantage to 114-113 with 38.9 seconds remaining. And he also showed great patience in not forcing a shot on the final possession of the game and finding Marcus Smart on the perimeter.
Brown finished with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocks in an all-around performance Sunday. The Celtics will need an even stronger effort from Brown in Game 2 to put the Nets in an 0-2 hole before the series shifts to Brooklyn.
Note: Games 2-6 of the Brooklyn Nets-Boston Celtics series will be aired on NBC Sports Boston and can also be streamed on NBCSportsBoston.com or with the MyTeams App, which you can download below.