‘It’s go time’: Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart on Jaylen Brown’s mid-game decision to ditch his mask
"We just knew at that moment it was a different JB and he was gonna carry us and bring us home.”
The Bruins defeated the Panthers 6-2 on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series. It was a game in which winger Taylor Hall recorded four points amid a rejuvenated postseason, and goaltender Linus Ullmark made 41 saves (along with being ready for a third period brawl).
The Celtics also won Game 4 of a first-round playoff series on Sunday, topping the Hawks 129-121. Boston now holds a 3-1 series lead.
Both teams return to TD Garden this week looking to close out each series, with the Celtics playing on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and the Bruins on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Red Sox also won on Sunday, scoring nine runs in the eighth inning to rally past the Brewers 12-5. Masataka Yoshida hammered two home runs (including a grand slam) in the eighth, becoming the first Red Sox player to hit multiple home runs in the same inning since David Ortiz in Aug. 2008.
Jaylen Brown’s teammates’ reactions to his mask-off performance: As Jaylen Brown got off to a sluggish start in Sunday’s Game 4 against the Hawks, he decided that it was time to change things up.
Specifically, Brown opted to remove the face mask he’s been wearing since a facial contusion in February.
“Maybe it was all in my head,” Brown told reporters after the game. “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.”
Whatever effect Brown’s new look had, it translated on the court with immediate impact. Having started the night shooting just 1-for-7, he closed out the game going 11-for-15, finishing with 31 points as the Celtics got a crucial road win.
Though it may have been symbolic, Brown’s teammates knew his mid-game decision to go maskless had meaning. Both Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart commented on it following the game.
“I was talking to Smart when JB took his mask off and I was like, ‘Oh s***, it’s go time,'” said Tatum. “I knew he was going to turn it up a notch.”
Smart joked that he didn’t recognize Brown.
“After the timeout, we were looking for Jaylen. Couldn’t find him because he didn’t have his mask on,” said Smart. “It was like, ‘Where’s he at?’ Then we see him in the corner and he gets the ball and then he makes those plays where he’s driving with force and throws it off the glass a couple times and makes some great plays. We just knew at that moment it was a different JB and he was gonna carry us and bring us home.”
Not everyone was as loquacious about Brown’s decision. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla had a simpler summation when asked what he saw from Brown following the decision to drop the mask.
“I saw his face,” Mazzulla said. He then offered more on what the 26-year-old contributed.
“After that, I saw just his poise,” added Mazzulla, “and I thought he did a great job making plays at the rim, operating in space, playing off two feet, making the right play. To me he showed just tremendous poise, especially on the offensive end. He had the ball in his hands making plays for himself and others.”
Trivia: Jayson Tatum is now tied for fourth with Paul Pierce in Celtics history among players with at least 30 points in a playoff game (he has done it 16 times). What three players rank ahead of Pierce and Tatum on that list?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: One was picked eighth overall in 1957. One was picked seventh overall in 1962. The third was picked sixth in 1978.
More from Boston.com:
- 8 takeaways as Jayson Tatum, maskless Jaylen Brown help Celtics take control vs. Hawks in Game 4 win
- Takeaways: Linus Ullmark guides the Bruins to a Game 4 victory for a 3-1 series lead over the Panthers
- Watch: Linus Ullmark looks to fight Matthew Tkachuk during line brawl in Bruins’ Game 4 win over Panthers
- Masataka Yoshida homers twice in 8th as Red Sox beat Brewers 12-5
- Bruins react to Linus Ullmark trying to fight Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk: ‘He can beat up anybody’
- No longer hobbled by injury, Taylor Hall has found his legs — and turned back into an ‘offensive juggernaut’ for the Bruins
- NBA announces potential dates for Celtics-Sixers playoff series
- What oddsmakers are predicting for the Patriots less than a week before the draft
- 3 takeaways from the Revolution’s 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City
London Marathon comeback: Olympic champion Sifan Hassan almost had to stop running during Sunday’s London Marathon due to an injury, and was also almost hit by a motorcycle as she cut across the course to get a water bottle.
Yet the 30-year-old miraculously rallied all the way back, eventually winning a late sprint for the line, finishing with a time of 2:18:33.
On this day: In 2009, the Red Sox rallied to beat the Yankees 5-4 in an 11-inning classic. Jason Bay homered off of Mariano Rivera to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth:
And in the 11th inning, Kevin Youkilis hit a walk-off winner:
Daily highlight: Ullmark made saves on Sunday by any means necessary, including using his head.
One more look:
Trivia answer: Sam Jones (21), John Havlicek (30), Larry Bird (43)
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