Jaylen Brown's intensity fuels Boston Celtics' statement win over Philadelphia 76ers - HIGHLIGHTS

After a disappointing loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1, the Boston Celtics knew they needed to find their edge again. They hadn't defended at a high level since early in the first round, and the Game 1 loss highlighted that they hadn't played up to their standards lately. But as the team prepared for Game 2, Jaylen Brown's intensity was palpable.

“He had that look in his eyes,” said Marcus Smart. “We know JB. He gets in that zone where he don’t talk to nobody. He’s just locked in. And that’s what you need.”

Brown's focus and intensity were evident from the start of the game. After the 76ers won the jump ball, Brown skipped over to James Harden to apply ball pressure beyond half court. Brown then refused to backpedal on defense after capping Boston’s first offensive possession with a made 3-pointer. Instead, he immediately followed up the bucket by seeking out Harden again. When the 76ers point guard caught the ball, he pivoted to find Brown there in a defensive stance, nearly 70 feet away from the Philadelphia hoop. The unspoken message to Harden and the 76ers: This would be a much different game than the series opener. The message to the rest of the Celtics: Follow me.

“We just wanted to impose our will,” Smart said. “We wanted to make a statement tonight. And that’s just playing the right way for us, our standards. And that’s the statement we wanted to make. Win or lose, we wanted to come out and play the right way.”

It all started with Brown. Though the 76ers eventually scored on their first possession, he did whatever he could to try to stop them. After pressuring up on Harden immediately, he switched onto Tyrese Maxey and raced around a screen. When Philadelphia threw an entry pass to Joel Embiid in the post, Brown stayed with Maxey for a beat before rushing at Embiid with a hard double-team. The 76ers eventually swung the ball to Tobias Harris in the opposite corner and Brown hustled one more time to attempt breaking up the possession. Harris’ pull-up jumper went in anyway, but Brown’s rotation to meet him outside of the paint took away a layup and forced a more difficult attempt.

For the rest of the game, Brown refused to retreat. He wouldn’t let his teammates do it, either. According to Grant Williams, Brown barked at the other Celtics when they failed to apply full-court pressure. After one timeout, Brown could be seen talking nonstop while guarding Harden before the 76ers guard inbounded the ball. It wasn’t clear whether Brown was talking to himself, a teammate, Harden or nobody in particular. When the rest of the Celtics offense took a while to get going, Brown carried the team with 13 first-quarter points on 5-of-6 shooting.

"We all should be excited to embrace that challenge."

Jaylen Brown is ready for the series to shift to Philadelphia for Game 3 & Game 4 🔊#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/p6ig5x2Jqo

— NBA (@NBA) May 4, 2023

Smart had seen this fiery version of Brown before.

“I think it’s evident with his physicality,” Smart said. “He’s picking guys up full court, he’s putting his body on guys and he’s pushing the pace on the offensive end. He’s forcing you to keep up with him. Instead of letting you dictate it, he’s dictating the game. He’s one of the best players in this league. When he’s playing both ends of the floor like that, he makes it really hard for us to be beat.”

Brown's performance in Game 2 was a reminder of just how good he can be. It was also a statement to the 76ers, who were dominant in Game 1, that the Celtics were not going to

Joel Embiid is 1-9 vs. Celtics in his playoff career 😳 pic.twitter.com/X3Hz0ZuOrk

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 4, 2023