Boston Celtics: Jaylen Brown carried the Celtics to victory on a historic night

The Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to five games on Thursday night when they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 121-113 on the road at the Staples Center. The Celtics didn’t struggle with coming out victorious at all. Largely due to Jaylen Brown carrying the Celtics from start to finish in this game.

Jaylen Brown makes history as he became the most efficient 40-point scorer in the historic franchise of the Boston Celtics.

Brown exploded for 40 points while shooting an impressive 17-of-20 from the floor in what became a historic night for both him and the Celtics. Brown became the first player in franchise history to record a 40-point game while shooting at least 85 percent from the field. Brown has continued to improve all season and prove that he’s worthy of being an All-Star.

"“I just wanted to come and be aggressive. The Celtics-Lakers matchup is a matchup that kids dream about, so regardless of who’s on the floor, I’m excited to play. That energy, having those Lakers fans back in the arena, we just wanted to come out and get a win.” – Jaylen Brown, via Vinny Somma of Heavy.com"

Brown’s near-perfect shooting night came from connecting on 14 of his 15 shots from inside the 3-point line. He was really efficient all night. After missing his first shot, Brown made 13 straight shots from inside the arc. Brown impressed everyone in this game, including respective comments from Frank Vogel, head coach of the Lakers.

"“Jaylen was unreal tonight. He just stayed hot. I think that he’s done a good job. Tonight, he was really dialed in scoring the ball. You’re not going to always shoot as well as he did tonight. Obviously, that’s like once-a-season type numbers, usually. But he’s had a great year and he continues to get better, and tonight was the night that he got going and we tried to ride that as much as possible.” – Brad Stevens, via Taylor Snow of NBA.com"

While Brown logged in 40 points, Jayson Tatum totaled 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field. Tatum did most of his work in the first half, only scored one basket in the third quarter and nothing in the fourth. By not scoring at least 20 points, Tatum ended his run at 11 games, which was the longest active streak in the NBA.

Luckily for the Celtics, they didn’t need much help in this game. After Brown, the next top scorers are Marcus Smart and Payton Pritchard, who both added 15 points. Without Pritchard, there wouldn’t have been any production from the second unit, as he scored 15 of the 26 points the bench accounted for in this game.

Considering the historic week that Tatum and Brown produced, it’s fair to say that the future of the Boston Celtics are in good hands. Between these two players, the Celtics will always have a chance to be a playoff-contending team.

The Boston Celtics need to continue playing team basketball during this final stretch of the season. If that happens, then the Celtics will be in a good position to endure the upcoming playoffs. The C’s play next on Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors at 8:30 PM on ABC.