The Celtics will play bigger, more consequential games during this playoff run, but Wednesday’s game quietly meant quite a bit.
A win meant that the Celtics could buy Jayson Tatum five days of rest for the wrist that he landed on hard in Game 1. It reminded everyone that the Celtics are the best team in the series even without their All-NBA forward. Perhaps most importantly, the win pulled the Celtics one step closer to ending a series against a team that is often described euphemistically as “physical.”
At the heart of the win was Jaylen Brown, who had a monstrous game in Tatum’s absence.