The Celtics bounced back from being down 13 points in the first half to pull off a 119-109 win over the Thunder tonight at Boston’s TD Garden. Jaylen Brown played like an MVP and lit the fire that the Celtics’ offense needed down the stretch to complete this exceptional comeback in a statement game.
The viral incident occurred in the fourth quarter when Brown managed to get Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to bite on a pump-fake before drawing a foul on a shot that he converted for the and-1.
Jaylen cheesin lmaooo pic.twitter.com/vUWfWR9yYg
— Pull up shoot (@NElGHT_) March 26, 2026
The Canadian guard could do nothing but smile as it seemed like he got played with one of the moves from his own book. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also played well tonight, but it seemed like Brown was chasing that matchup throughout the game.
You can just tell Jaylen Brown is taking this game personal against SGA 😭😭pic.twitter.com/IS0itM0jcZ
— SleeperHoops (@Sleeper_Hoops) March 26, 2026
Following the game, Jaylen Brown spoke to the media and was asked about the shot that he made over Gilgeous-Alexander and whether it signified anything to him personally.
“Yeah, he got me last time we played them. He got me on the up-fake; I knew it was coming, and I still jumped for it. I guess that was a little payback,” said Brown on whether this was a moment where he wanted to give Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a taste of his own medicine.
Subsequently, Brown also admitted that his complaining about officials in the past may have benefited him tonight as he went to the free-throw line for 12 of his 31 points.
“I feel like I’ve played the same style, but maybe complaining has given a bit more notoriety to how the game is officiated. I think the officials did a good job tonight. Every call is not going to be perfect, but I thought they did a great job at trying to keep it balanced. I have no complaints,” said Brown.
The Celtics guard finished the game with 31 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and two steals while going 9-17 from the floor (52.9 FG%) and 1-3 from behind the three-point line.
Meanwhile, the reigning MVP finished the game with 33 points, eight assists, two rebounds, and two steals while shooting 10-12 from the floor (83.3 FG%) and 3-4 from beyond the arc (75.0 3P%). But this was not enough to beat the Celtics tonight.
The Celtics have now improved to 48-24, just four games behind the Pistons in the No. 1 seed with 10 games left in the season. They are now going to host the Hawks on Friday in an attempt to make a stronger push for the top spot.
The Thunder, on the other hand, have fallen to 57-16 and are only two games ahead of the Spurs at the top spot in the West. It will be interesting to see if the Spurs can catch up to the Thunder over these last nine games.
