Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Has Emotional Take After Losing To Knicks

Things went from bad to worse for the Celtics, as Boston was humiliated and eliminated Friday night by the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Jaylen Brown was aggressive and kept Boston afloat in the first quarter, but the rest of the Celtics team couldn’t generate any consistent offense. That led to the Knicks pulling away in the second, outscoring the Celtics 38-17 in the quarter to take a 64-37 lead into the half.

The second half didn’t improve for Boston, especially after Brown fouled out late in the third quarter. The Celtics star, who led Boston with 20 points, was forced to watch his team lose 119-81 to New York from the bench.

“Losing to the Knicks feels like death,” Brown told reporters after the game, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “But, I was always taught that there’s life after death. So, we’ll get ready for whatever’s next. Whatever’s next in this journey, I’ll be ready for.

“Finishing (the season) in May feels weird. Definitely not something we were prepared for. … It’s hard processing it all right now in real time. But I’m happy that our group stayed together. It was an honor to share the locker room with a lot of these guys. … It hurt to see the emotions of all the guys being a leader and not being able to carry everybody to the promised land. It sucks, but it just wasn’t our year.”

The Celtics simply didn’t have answers for the Knicks, who scored 48 points in the paint and 23 on the fast break.

“I don’t make no excuses,” Brown said. “Obviously, it’s tough the way we went out tonight, but the way we finished our year, personally, I finished the year persevering through some physical stuff that I was battling through, I’m proud of our group. I thought that we fought; we were in a lot of battles.

“And that’s a lot to be excited for. This journey is not the end, it’s not the end for me. I’m looking forward to coming back stronger. So, just taking this chin up. I know Boston, it looks gloomy right now. Obviously, with (Jayson Tatum) being out, that’s kind of the end of the year. But, it’s a lot to look forward for, it’s a lot to look forward to. I mean, it’s not the end, so I’m looking forward to what’s next.”