Why Celtics' Jaylen Brown called Kristaps Porzingis' domination of Bulls 'scary'
Today at 08:42 AM
BOSTON — The Boston Celtics haven’t been very consistent of late. The reigning champions are 9-6 in January and 2-2 in their last four games. But during this stretch, there has been one constant: Kristaps Porzingis playing some of the best basketball of his career. In fact, his finest game of the 2024-25 season came on Wednesday night, as the Celtics buried the Bulls at TD Garden, 122-100.
Porzingis lit up the Bulls with a season-high 34 points, scoring over 30 points for the first time since last February. He also hit a career-high eight triples in 33 minutes while shooting over 55% from the floor. Scoring aside, the Latvian big man tied two other season-highs with 11 rebounds and three steals.
In his last eight games, Porzingis averaged 19.1 points per outing and shot 51.9% from the field and a remarkable 53.2% from deep. When he’s playing at a high level, Celtics star Jaylen Brown knows Boston is at its best.
“It’s tough. It’s scary when [Porzingis] is shooting the ball with confidence,” Brown told reporters during his postgame presser. “That opens it up for everybody else. So that’s what I like to see. KP had a great game tonight. We just gotta keep building.”
Jaylen Brown on what Kristaps Porzingis' big game means for the Celtics (Q from @CTabatabaie):
"It's tough, it's scary … Just gotta keep building." pic.twitter.com/rH26rNxpLV
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) January 30, 2025
After a fourth-quarter collapse against the Houston Rockets on Monday night, the C’s were eager to bounce back from their disappointing defeat. Porzingis helped Boston respond almost instantly, dropping 15 points in the first quarter and reaching 26 points (his previous season-high) at halftime.
“If you throw the first punch, it’s hard to recover,” Brown stated. “So I thought we came out slinging. KP came out the gate lighting them up and we just kind of kept it rolling from there.”
Kristaps Porzingis with back-to-back threes as the Celtics start off the game with a 10-0 run pic.twitter.com/3L2428QwcW
— Celtics Nation (@CelticsNationCP) January 30, 2025
Although Porzingis won’t make the upcoming All-Star Game, he’s been just what the Celtics have needed in the 22 games he’s played this season. Finding an answer for Brown and fellow Celtics star Jayson Tatum is already hard enough for opponents, but things become extremely difficult when Porzingis is in the mix and contributing on both ends of the floor.
“It’s great to see him kind of have a game like he did tonight,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said of his starting center. “And for us, [it’s great] to have a well-balanced game as well.”
Boston shot a little north of 47% overall and held Chicago to 30.6% from beyond the arc, which is especially impressive since the Bulls drain the third-most triples per game. The Celtics have prioritized winning the 3-point battle under Mazzulla and while Wednesday night’s win was expected—as the Bulls were without star guard Zach LaVine—it was viewed as another small step in the right direction along the path to repeat as NBA champions.
Brown, who finished with 28 points and a game-high plus-minus rating of plus-23, acknowledged that the road to winning back-to-back titles is anything but easy. Rather, it’s winding and erratic.
“This is building habits,” he replied when asked what beating the Bulls means for the Celtics amid their recent struggles. “[The season] doesn’t always look like a straight, linear line. Sometimes it’s ups and downs. So we just got to navigate that. And it’s just all tests and you got to stay with it. Can’t complain. Don’t let it break your spirit, because in the end, you want to be playing good basketball going towards the playoffs.”
Jaylen Brown talked about how the Celtics road to success might not be linear, and why that's ok:
"I'm not discouraged. I feel good about the guys in our locker room." pic.twitter.com/oksrCfM8rN
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) January 30, 2025
Even though the playoffs are still months away, the C’s are now 33-15 overall and remain in second place in the Eastern Conference. In addition, they’re 14-1 in games following a loss and have been relatively resilient when necessary.
They’ll need more of that resiliency before the All-Star break in mid-February. In its next seven games, Boston faces five squads that qualified for the 2024 postseason. That difficult stint includes meetings with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the owners of the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and the New York Knicks, who’ve won five in a row and are currently one game behind the Green Team.
Yet, up first are the 12-36 New Orleans Pelicans on Friday evening. Despite their record, the Pels nearly beat the Celtics in Beantown, falling 120-119 after guard CJ McCollum missed a potential game-winner. Porzingis and company will look to avoid the drama this time around and earn back-to-back wins for just the second time in the last three weeks.
The post Why Celtics’ Jaylen Brown called Kristaps Porzingis' domination of Bulls 'scary' appeared first on ClutchPoints.
