The Boston Celtics were coming incredibly close to losing to the 7-30 Orlando Magic.
Then Jaylen Brown got fired up and put on a heck of a show.
Brown scored 50 points in the overtime win against the Magic on Sunday night, achieving 21 points in the fourth quarter alone and totaling 11 rebounds and four assists as well.
50-point, 10-rebound games in Celtics franchise history:
Larry Bird (2)
Kevin McHale
Jayson TatumAnd now, Jaylen Brown. pic.twitter.com/UNpw7vzAIR
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 3, 2022
It was a terrific showing for the young star and helped the Celtics achieve a needed win.
The 50-point game also put some wind in Brown’s sails – right when the team needs him most.
Overtime Thriller
Make no mistake: the Celtics were setting themselves up to lose on Sunday night.
There were down 14 points with just over four minutes to play in regulation but were able to rally back because of Brown, who put the team ahead 100-98 with just 30 seconds left.
When Orlando’s Tim Frazier forced overtime, Boston was ready for it and they pulled away eventually leading to a 116-111 win.
Jaylen Brown is up to 47 😱
OT in Boston pic.twitter.com/22h8TOW73X
— Vivid Sports (@vivid_sports) January 3, 2022
Brown was red hot and became just the seventh player in the franchise’s history to reach 50 points a regular-season game.
This was an ultra-impressive showing for Brown because it was all done without Boston’s leading scorer, Jayson Tatum.
It was also important because if the Celtics lost to the Magic, it would have been downright humiliating: the Magic are 15th in the East and were lacking their star player, Cole Anthony.
In other words, the Celtics just couldn’t lose because of what it would have done to morale.
Brown’s ability to step it up and take the reins and dig deep for his team sent a message: despite what some critics say, he is a team leader and is ready to push his team forward – even though they have been wildly inconsistent so far this year.
The Celtics Season So Far
This hasn’t been the season that many Celtics fans were hoping for.
Currently, they are ninth in the East with a record of 18-19.
Due to absences, a new coach, and a tough conference, the team hasn’t been playing as people had expected.
Brown himself has even missed some games too – only adding to the team’s struggles.
There have also been complaints at times about how he’s been playing with Tatum – some have even called for a trade to split the pair up.
This is why his amazing 50-point game came at the right time and sent a message to the rest of the league: the Celtics still have some power in them.
It’s true that this epic game was against one of the worst in the league but that doesn’t matter to Boston: even without their biggest star, they were able to come through and find a blockbuster performance from Brown.
This is the sort of win that will give Brown some much-needed confidence and will also send a few lessons to the rest of the team too.
Brown’s 50-point night tells them to stay dedicated and consistent and do not give up any fight, no matter how monumental it seems.
A 14-point deficit – or an even bigger one – can be overcome with the sort of enthusiasm that Brown showed on Sunday night.
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