Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown didn’t sugar-coat it after the Celtics lost Game 7 of the 2023 East finals to the Miami Heat on Monday night.
“We failed. I failed. We let the whole city down,” Brown said after Boston fell short in their attempt erase a 3-0 series deficit. “Just a terrible game when my team needed me most.”
That star teammate Jayson Tatum severely turned his ankle on the first play of the game was not lost on the Georgia native despite his admitted shortcomings in filling the void left by Tatum’s diminished ability on the court.
“JT hurt his ankle first play of the game, and you could see it swelling up on him,” Brown said. “He couldn’t move out there. It was tough on him. My team turned to me to make plays, and I came up short.”
No team in NBA history has produced more. How many can you name? https://t.co/bAEbJi8hCO
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 30, 2023
But it was not just Brown who fumbled perhaps the most important game of his career to that point. Only Derrick White and Tatum joined him in double figures, and no one provided consistent defensive play throughout.
“Offensively, it just seemed like we couldn’t hit a shot,” he added on a night Boston produced one of its least efficient nights beyond the arc of the season. “We had a bunch of good looks and nothing went in. We all have to sit back and reflect on that,” said Brown.
Now, they will have an uncomfortable amount of time to do so.
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