Jaylen Brown delivered the highest possible praise for the Indiana Pacers despite helping his team win Game 3. To those who might not be aware, the Boston Celtics have matched up against the Indiana Pacers for the Eastern Conference Finals and currently hold a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
The Celtics’s most recent Game 3 victory against the Pacers did not go as planned. Given that Tyrese Haliburton did not play in this game, Boston was expected to crush Indiana despite being on the road for this match. However, the effort that multiple players on the Pacers displayed left Jaylen Brown no choice but to compare them to Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.
The Indiana Pacers led for the majority of Game 3 without Tyrese Haliburton
Given that the Indiana Pacers are far less talented and experienced when compared to the Boston Celtics, they were never really favored to win this series. After losing Tyrese Haliburton in Game 2, the Pacers were expected to get blown out by the Celtics despite having a homecourt advantage for Game 3.
However, the Pacers put up an impressive fight and even had an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter. It appeared as if every single player on the roster did their part and was unable to miss. Although the Boston Celtics ended up winning this game, Jaylen Brown gave credit to all the players on the Pacers by comparing them to Michael Jordan.
“Some of those guys turned into f*cking Michael Jordan or whatever”
Jaylen Brown speaks on Pacers performance tonight 😳
(🎥 @CelticsCLNS)
pic.twitter.com/ih58TBR3H4— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 26, 2024
“Some of those guys turned into f*cking Michael Jordan or whatever. We was like man what is going on? Like we couldn’t figure it out. But like 4th quarter, we stayed close enough. We stayed right there. We just kept saying they gonna let us back in the game…In the 4th quarter, we made some big-time plays…We just had a great great great win tonight.”
Making an 18-point comeback on the road is quite rare, especially during high-pressure situations such as the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite many players on the Pacers stepping up and balling out, the Celtics were able to stay within striking distance and took the game toward the final stretch.
Andrew Nembhard shocked the Boston Celtics with a 32-point performance in Game 3
Although there is no way of knowing which player was on Jaylen Brown’s mind when making the comparison to Michael Jordan, Andrew Nembhard is most likely the player who shocked the Boston Celtics. He had scored just 12 points in Game 1 and 16 points in Game 2. However, he scored an impressive 32 points and 9 assists in Game 3.
The rest of the Pacers went along with the momentum that Nembhard created. TJ McConnell finished the night with 23 points. Pascal Siakam and Myles Tuner both had 22. Witnessing such a shooting night for all the players on the Pacers’ roster made Jaylen Brown associate them with Michael Jordan. Fans are left wondering if the Pacers can replicate this effect once again in Game 4 to extend this series.