In a gut-wrenching 117-116 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics let a 13-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter, with defensive lapses proving costly as the Sixers racked up 42 points in the final frame. Jaylen Brown, the Celtics’ leading scorer with 25 points, including 12 in the fourth, was a bystander on the team’s final possession, where shot attempts from Payton Pritchard and Xavier Tillman fell short. Despite his offensive contributions, Brown’s post-game comments raised eyebrows as he pointed to an unexpected reason for the late collapse.
Brown attributed the loss to the team’s failure to contain 76ers star Tyrese Maxey, suggesting that Boston’s defense allowed Maxey to “play free” due to a lack of attention to detail. “We let Maxey get going, and we got to do a better job, especially on one of their better players on the floor,” Brown said. “Somebody got to make sure we can’t let that happen. I don’t know if it was too focused on the offensive end, but we can’t just let guys come here and do what they want.” His remarks seemed to deflect from Boston’s broader defensive breakdowns and the team’s offensive stagnation in crunch time, where Brown himself went 1-of-4 from the field in the final two minutes and didn’t touch the ball on the last play.
The Celtics’ new-look roster, still adjusting to a revamped lineup and a fresh playing style, struggled to close out a winnable game. Brown acknowledged the learning curve, noting, “It’s tough, you know, it’s tough. Definitely a winnable game for us. We had some opportunities that didn’t go our way. It’s a learning experience. We got a bunch of new guys, we’re playing a new style. I thought we played hard today, but some crucial errors cost us.”
With little time to dwell on the defeat, the Celtics face a daunting three-game road trip starting with a matchup against the New York Knicks on Friday. Brown, however, remains optimistic about the team’s growth. “I’m looking forward to watching film and learning and staying with the journey,” he said. “We got a new group that’s still figuring things out. Some of these other teams have played together for a little bit more, so it’s gonna be some ups and downs. I’m looking forward to when we catch our wind, what that could possibly be.”
While Brown’s focus on Maxey’s performance wasn’t entirely off-base, his comments sidestepped the team’s collective defensive failures and offensive miscues in the clutch. As Boston heads into a challenging stretch, fans are left wondering if the team’s star is zeroing in on the right lessons from this heartbreaker.