In Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals from Boston, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics defeated Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, securing the team’s first championship since the Bush era.
Although Brown’s statistical performance in this game wasn’t as impressive as it could have been, his total series performance was enough to win him the coveted MVP award and help the Celtics wrap out one of the most successful seasons in NBA history.
One of Brown’s most remarkable performances throughout these finals was his ability to guard Doncic, who was arguably the most difficult player to guard in the game, on the defensive end of the court. Brown did a good job of forcing the Mavericks star to work hard for everything he had and limiting his efficiency for the series.
Brown and Doncic enjoyed a moment after the game as the Celtics celebrated, congratulating each other on a hard-fought series.
“You’re a killer, Luka. You brought out the best in me. Brown said to Doncic, “I love you, bro,” through Tomek Kordylewski on X, the social media site that was once known as Twitter (according to the NBA).
“I also adore you, my friend,” Doncic answered.
It was a show of great sportsmanship between two players who played integral roles in their respective teams’ ascension to the game’s biggest stage and performed well when they got there.
In the Finals, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla employed a distinctive defensive plan against Doncic and the Mavericks. Mazzulla chose to mostly guard Doncic in single coverage in an effort to keep his Mavericks teammates from getting going, despite the fact that most teams are prone to throw double teams at both Doncic and Mavericks colleague Kyrie Irving.
Naturally, this meant that Mazzulla put Brown in charge of keeping up with Doncic, who may not be the fastest or most athletic player in the NBA, but he is a master of time and deceleration and a physically strong individual with perhaps the most unusual skill set.
Overall, Brown had a commendable job of finishing this assignment, blocking Doncic’s drives into the paint and pressuring him to make difficult contested shots, most of which were unsuccessful for the Slovenian star.
Additionally, Brown performed admirably in avoiding foul trouble, which is always a worry when covering a player as cunning as Doncic, particularly with the Celtics depending so much on Brown’s output on the opposite end of the court.
Speaking about the opposite end of the court, Brown had multiple huge performances for the Celtics throughout these Finals. One such play was a clutch jumper that he made in Game 3 with less than a minute left, thus ending the game and the series for Boston.
Either way, the Celtics are now the overwhelming favorites to repeat this feat the following season.
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