Celts
Jaylen Brown hit the largest shot within the Celtics' 109-102 win over the Cavaliers in Game 4, hitting a three-pointer with just over a minute left to extend the result in eight.
Even though the shot was a game-winning dagger, Brown didn't react accordingly. The Celtics' star winger appeared upset and pointed toward the Cavaliers' bench before being restrained and pulled back by his teammates and training staff.
It seems that Brown's problem wasn't with the Cavaliers. Rather, he was annoyed with the official Tyler Ford, who had apparently collided with him while he was in possession of the ball as he tried to get open.
“Tyler, the official who was walking down the sideline, I don’t think he was paying attention, but he was on the play.” Brown said. “When I lifted up I collided with him first, I needed to push him out of the approach to catch the ball and knock down the shot. He was right there like an additional defender because he was in the way in which, so I talked and told him to get his [expletive] out of the way in which.”
Brown posted a screenshot of the piece in an Instagram story after Monday's game, where it appeared Ford made contact with him shortly before receiving Jayson Tatum's pass.
After the shot, Brown made an arm motion to signal that he needed to move Ford out of the way while he spoke to the officer.
“I guess he didn’t know what I was talking about, but I thought he had an influence on the play,” Brown said. “I have to watch it, but I'm lifting because I wanted to get JT space and I'm lifting on that wing and as I'm flying up I collided with Tyler on the ground. On such an important possession, hitting the official while trying to gain distance and get an open look makes a big difference. You have to be aware of this, I thought, but it's all good. The shot went in, we win the game, so it’s probably not a story.”
The basket was Brown's last of the night and gave him 27 points in the win. This also ended a dry spell for the Celtics' offense, as they had only made one shot in the previous seven minutes. Tatum expressed so much joy that he hit Brown's chest so hard in his celebration that his teammate winced as he spoke to Ford.
“I’ll bring Jayson back for that too,” Brown said with a grin. “I wasn't paying attention and he just comes out of nowhere with a left hook straight to the chest. I’ll get him back for that.”
Tatum also joked about the moment and expressed a bit of remorse.
“I didn’t realize how hard I hit him,” Tatum told reporters. “I've been training quite a bit currently.”
Regardless of how the sport went, Brown made his last shot of the sport and the Celtics returned to Boston with a 3-1 series lead. Their first likelihood to earn a ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals for a 3rd straight season comes on Wednesday once they host the Cavaliers for Game 5.
image credit : www.boston.com