Jaylen Brown may have thought he was still playing in the All-Star Game in Indiana, just as he was being defended by the Knicks.
On Saturday night, Brown scored 30 points on 13-of-24 field goals and 3-of-9 3-pointers in the Knicks’ game against the Celtics at Madison Square Garden.
He started shooting, scoring 20 points in the first half and adding 10 more in the second half.
Brown, a three-time All-Star, has often played as a power forward next to center Isaiah Hartenstein since the Knicks were without Julius Randle (shoulder) and OG Anunoby (elbow).・Achiuwa was mainly guarding.
Achiuwa didn’t play much for the Raptors before being traded to the Knicks, but he thrived in that role, but Brown presents a different type of opponent than he’s previously faced.
“He’s a good player,” Achiuwa told the Post about Brown. “He got things going early. Even if there are days where he makes a lot of tough shots, you have to accept that. Sometimes, that’s the game.”
While Achiuwa was matched up primarily with traditional power forwards, Brown functioned more as a wing, slashing from the perimeter and shooting from beyond the arc.
As a result, Brown was able to use his quickness to get around Achiuwa multiple times, consistently beating the Knicks’ defense in the process.
“I have no problem with that. [quickness]” said Achiuwa. “He hit a really, really tough shot today and there’s not much you can do about it.”
Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart, both wings rather than power forwards, took turns guarding Brown when Hartenstein was benched and Achiuwa moved to center, but his performance did little to improve.
Brown’s 30 points were his most points since January 22nd.
“You’re not protecting those people.” [like Brown] Individually,” Thibodeau said. “We usually have Julius guarding them and Josh guarding them, but we have to give them the right help as well. We know that when we have a matchup like that has to be dealt with together with the team. Therefore, the awareness of our team needs to be better.”
His performance helped fill the void left by Jayson Tatum, who had a quiet night scoring 19 points. But Brown prevented the Knicks from taking advantage of Tatum’s time off.
It’s also a microcosm of the challenges the Knicks face on a nightly basis these days.
Without Randle and Anunoby, they rely too much on Jalen Brunson’s talent and have little plan B if he can’t lead them to victory. But the Celtics had a Plan B for Brown, and it made the difference Saturday night.
Achiuwa wasn’t the only one who saw the Knicks’ entire defense fall apart.
The Celtics shot 57.5 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from behind the basket and committed just seven turnovers.
“When playoff time comes, there is a possibility of a matchup,” Achiuwa said. “So I’m definitely going to go back and learn from this experience.”
