Jaylen Brown Delivers Sparkling Two-Way Effort in 37-Point Win Over Indy

BOSTON – Jaylen Brown was sparkling as he walked up to the podium Friday night after delivering a season-high 44 points in a 142-105 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Not just figuratively sparkling; the Celtics superstar was literally twinkling under the fluorescent lighting in a jewel-encrusted beanie, a fitting fashion choice on this occasion.

“I’m a king, so I got some jewels,” Brown smiled when asked about his unique headgear.

A king on both ends of the TD Garden court.

Not only did Brown deliver his highest-scoring performance in nearly three years, but he also snagged four steals in the effort to become just the fifth Celtic to record a 40-point, four-steal effort in a regular-season game.

We all know Brown is an offensive superstar, but what he’s doing on the defensive end deserves more recognition.

“People don’t pay enough attention to it,” Brown said of the general underappreciation for defense. “But I feel like I’m one of the best two-way players in the world. I try to hang my hat on that side by doing different assignments, like picking up guys full court, chasing guys off screens, switching onto bigs. That takes a lot of energy.”

Especially when you’re scoring in the mid-20s on the other end. Or in Friday night’s case, in the mid-40s.

Brown opened the game with a perfect first quarter: 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field, including 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc. He made his first nine field goal attempts of the game before finishing 16-of-24 from the field, 6-of-11 from deep, and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.

But what made the effort truly special was that he was putting in just as much work on the other end. Not a single Pacers guard or wing shot above 50 percent from the field. Brown’s on-ball defense played a massive role in such limitation.

After the game, Payton Pritchard vouched for Brown’s All-Defense candidacy.

“What he is capable of doing, and at his size, you don’t see many people picking up full-court like that, guarding the best guards in the world,” Pritchard said. “Usually somebody his size would guard a wing, but he’s picking up the best point guards in the world full-court and then like he said, scoring 25 (per game). People don’t really understand how difficult that really is. They overestimate what that takes. He should definitely be in the All-Defensive Team category because we give him the hardest assignments. It’s an exhausting thing, and he’s creating havoc and making things tough every night. So they definitely need to take notice.”

Celtics fans certainly took notice. They gave Brown a standing ovation when he exited the game in the fourth quarter after playing 37 of the first 39 minutes, providing non-stop hustle on both ends.

He came into the game on a mission to help his team bounce back from a tough stretch of losses, and he got back to leading them on the defensive end, first and foremost.

“Defense is where our team needs to set the tone and hang our hats,” Brown said, still wearing his. “And I feel like I’m the leader of that.”