BOSTON — Whenever Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown takes the podium or stands in front of the media, he often assesses whether or not his team just played "Celtics basketball." If they were beat on the boards or looked lazy on defense, they didn't. If they hustled for loose balls and played together, they did. Following the Green Team's 123-91 drubbing of the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday afternoon in Game 1 of the first round, there was no question which way Brown would rule when he got behind the mic.
"That was Celtics basketball," Brown stated after the wire-to-wire win. "We've been the harder playing team all year. That can't change now that the playoffs have started.”
Jaylen Brown on the Celtics’ professionalism tonight:“That was Celtics basketball. We've been the harder playing team all year. That can't change now that the playoffs started.” pic.twitter.com/wIEMaC1Es7
If there's anybody who would be familiar with the definition of Celtics basketball, it's Brown. He's the longest-tenured Celtic and has helped lead the Green Team to the playoffs in every one of his 10 seasons in the NBA.
And while the four-time All-Star struggled to start Game 1, missing 8 of his first 12 shots from the floor, he scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and essentially buried the Sixers down the stretch.
"We're prepared," Brown said after the most lopsided playoff-opening win in franchise history. "We're ready. So we just got to be ready every time we step out on the floor. But great tone-setter, a lot of great teams have played in a Celtics uniform. For us to have the biggest margin of victory in a home opener playoff game is great. It sets the tone and it reflects our focus and our intensity."
Perhaps the most impressive part of the Celtics' historic beatdown is that nobody on the roster wavered. No Celtic took it easy, even when up by as many as 35 points. The C's never let their advantage dip anywhere close to single digits in the second half and won on the glass, at the 3-point line, and in transition — a part of the game in which the Sixers usually thrive.
"Teams play harder, we got to play even harder, or definitely match that," Brown asserted. "So, the mentality, the focus, the attention span, the efficiency needs to improve. We have to get to our spots, and we got to be able to see and read the game as it comes. And I think that is what we've been building up towards all season long in our film sessions and our practices."
Surpassing Sunday's showcase of Celtics basketball will be difficult, as nearly everything went Boston's way. Brown and fellow Celtics star Jayson Tatum dominated, tough shots fell, the bench was reliable, and the 76ers looked outmatched.
However, that doesn't mean the Celtics won't try to outdo themselves on Tuesday night during Game 2 at TD Garden.
"It's not something that we're not familiar with, which is intensifying and taking it to another level," Brown said.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: A 123-91 win over the 76ers was Jaylen Brown's definition of Celtics basketball