Jaylen Brown puts mask back on, but scoring eruption not enough for Celtics to win Game 5
The Celtics star took his mask off in Game 4. He found similar scoring luck when he put it back on in Game 5.
BOSTON — Jaylen Brown wore his protective face mask again in Game 5.
Brown, who had been wearing the mask since suffering a facial contusion in February, removed the mask during Boston’s Game 4 win in Atlanta en route to a 31-point performance to break his slump and earn the Celtics a victory.
Brown had similar scoring luck when he put the mask back on for Game 5. He scored a team-high 35 points on 15-of-23 shooting, adding seven rebounds and five assists.
The high-scoring night for Brown wasn’t enough though for the Celtics. They fell to the Hawks, 119-117, in Game 5, forcing a Game 6 in Atlanta on Thursday.
Brown got off to a hot start in Tuesday’s game, scoring 11 points in the first quarter on 5-of-7 shooting. He continued that in the second quarter, scoring 12 more points in the first half as he made all but one of the six shots he took in the frame.
Brown wasn’t as hot in the second half. He scored eight fourth-quarter points, but missed all three free throws he took in the quarter as he shot 1-for-5 from the stripe on Tuesday.
Prior to Tuesday’s game, Celtics radio analyst Cedric Maxwell revealed that Brown said his face isn’t completely healed and he doesn’t want to risk further injury.
Following the Game 4 win, Brown explained why he took the mask off.
“Maybe it was all in my head,” Brown said. “I just needed a different look. I just felt like to start the game I didn’t like the looks that I got so I just needed something to switch it up a little bit. And as soon as I took it off things started to turn around a little bit.”
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