Jaylen Brown pays respect to Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis

ByNBAUSA



Boston Celtics star Jailen Brown is grateful for everything that is accomplished along with Golden State Warriors centers Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. Less than two years ago, they won the NBA championship together in dominant fashion, and the first-year Warriors played a major role in that title run.

However, just because Brown enjoyed hanging out with Horford and Porzingis doesn’t mean he’ll go easy on them when the Celtics take on the Dubs in San Francisco on Thursday night. Brown, who officially became a five-time All-Star last weekend, torched the Warriors with 23 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists – good enough for his third triple-double of the season.

His impressive performance helped The Celtics advance by as many as 34 points and secured a 121-110 victory at the Chase Center. After the double-digit victory, he simultaneously thanked and teased his former teammates, via the NBA broadcast on Prime Video.

“Well, those guys helped us win the championship in 2024, so there’s no better way to honor them than to give them the belt tonight,” Brown said with a smile.

Despite a winning effort from the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, the Celtics didn’t completely dismantle the Warriors on Thursday night. Golden State cut Boston’s lead to 11 points in the fourth quarter and won the final frame 37-19.

However, time was not on Golden State’s side, and Porzingis’ seven points in the game’s final 12 minutes were not enough to complete the comeback. In his debut for the warriors (and the first game since January 7), the Latvian great recorded 12 points and one block in 17 minutes off the bench.

As for the other former Celtic on the floor, Horford struggled offensively, missing eight of his 10 shots en route to five points. Still, he was far from the worst Warriors center to hit the court, as veteran big man Draymond Green was held scoreless in 18 minutes of action and posted a team-worst plus-minus rating of minus-28.

Without the right size and, most importantly, the presence of star guard Stephen Curry due to a knee injuryThe Warriors couldn’t keep up with the overachieving Celtics. Brown and company will now depart from their successful gathering in the Bay Area and look forward to a Sunday afternoon showdown with the rival Los Angeles Lakers.





2026-02-20 13:28:00

Similar Posts