Jaylen Brown

One didn’t necessarily need to be a wallfly to know exactly what player settled atop the scouting report and dominated pregame meetings in the locker room of the Orlando Magic’s top-ranked defense. And yet, as he battled through injuries of his own, and entered April 23, 2025’s battle without one half of “The Jays,” Jaylen Brown approached Game Two with a simple plan: soaring higher than anything his opponents could reach. Fulfilling the task first defensively, the Boston Celtics’ superstar got the ball rolling through a heady pickpocket of Cory Joseph’s dribble, quickly positioning himself for a defense-to-offense sequence. Spurred on by the all-knowing, ready-to-celebrate TD Garden at his backs, Brown paired the takeaway with an equally-must-see flush, triggering a 14-point third quarter edge, and eventually, a runaway win for a 2-0 series edge. In what simply became the latest bullet point in Brown’s already-established two-way résumé, Brown curtained the evening with 36 points (on 12-of-19 shooting), joined by 10 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and five 3-point makes.