Jaylen Brown says Celtics need to take away 76ers’ newfound swagger in Game 7

PHILADELPHIA — Jaylen Brown waved his arms trying to call off the substitution. For a couple of seconds, he attempted to convince Joe Mazzulla to leave him on the court with three fouls late in the second quarter.

Though Brown eventually lost the argument, he recognized the urgency of the moment. The Boston Celtics still had plenty of time left in Game 6, but it was spinning away from them already. The series, which Brown’s team once seemed to have in hand, was rocketing in the wrong direction.

The Celtics failed to stop that momentum Thursday. After their 106-93 loss, they will need to save their season in Game 7 on Saturday. And, to do that, they will need to snap the rhythm of the suddenly-clicking Philadelphia 76ers.

“Nothing is gonna be easy,” Brown said. “Nothing’s gonna be given. We’ve gotta break it. Their comfort level is higher right now. Their confidence is high right now. They’ve got a different swag to them, and we’ve gotta take that (away).”

Earlier in the series, Mazzulla said the Celtics’ experience doesn’t just show up during big moments on the court. At playoff time, the coach said, that experience helps his team navigate all the ups and downs of a series.

Maybe that’s why the Celtics took the perspective they did Thursday night. They could have felt as if they were in a freefall but sounded excited for the prospect of a Game 7 anyway. Brown even said his team is in “a great spot,” all things considered.

“Game 7 is a game amongst itself,” Brown said. “The rest of the series doesn’t matter. It’s gonna be who’s gonna show up on that day and be the better-performing team. We definitely see some stuff that I know I can improve. Definitely would shift my approach going into Game 7. I’m looking forward to coming out with a great fight.”

Experience alone won’t rescue the Celtics. They appeared ready to advance when they took a 13-point lead early in the second half of Game 5, but the six quarters since then have been enough to make their supporters sick. Boston was outplayed badly enough in Game 6 that Mazzulla sat the starters early in the fourth quarter. Though the Celtics’ bench quickly went on a run to cut the deficit to 14 points, Mazzulla never returned to his first unit.

At least publicly, Brown didn’t complain about the decision to keep him and the other starters on the bench to end the game.

“They just played harder,” Brown said of the Celtics’ bench players. “That group came out, was able to cut into their lead because they played harder. The group before that, we didn’t play hard enough.”

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The Celtics looked like the Eastern Conference favorite through four games of this series but are now in a fight just to survive the first round. Even if they do win Game 7, they will need to solve several pressing issues exposed in this series. Derrick White finally drained a few 3-pointers in Game 6, but he needs to prove his confidence hasn’t disappeared. The center rotation, which did its part throughout the regular season, has looked overmatched. Neemias Queta can’t stop fouling. Nikola Vučević’s limitations matter against Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. Outside of Payton Pritchard, who has done his job on offense in this series, the Celtics need to find more scoring punch from their supporting cast. Brown, who has more turnovers (eight) than assists (seven) over the past two games, believes he needs to do his part to free his teammates for better looks.

“I gotta get to the point where I’m putting a little bit more pressure on the defense so things can open up on my team,” Brown said. “We haven’t been able to find that, haven’t been able to find a lot of easy looks. But that’s the beauty of it. It’s not supposed to be easy. Adversity, it’s not supposed to be easy and it’s not for everybody. I expect us to show up great (for Game 7). I expect our crowd to show up great and be ready to go.”

Jayson Tatum, controlling the ball against Tyrese Maxey, will likely be at less than 100 percent for Saturday’s Game 7. (Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)

In another area of concern, Jayson Tatum briefly left the Celtics’ bench after experiencing left leg stiffness during the third quarter. Though he downplayed the issue, which was not on the same leg as his Achilles injury, he will likely be less than 100 percent in the deciding game. After sitting out the final four minutes of the third quarter Thursday, he normally would have returned to the game to begin the fourth. Instead, the decision was made to leave him on the bench.

“I wasn’t like overly concerned,” Tatum said. “S—, I came out at four minutes like I was supposed to and just kind of assessed the game. And they took the starters out fairly early in the fourth quarter. So yeah, it was not like that big of a deal.”

Over the rest of the game, Tatum spent some time in the locker room, where he received treatment, and on a stationary bike, where he must have heard it from the 76ers fans nearby. The Philadelphia crowd essentially threw a party down the stretch.

Boston needs to suck away the overflowing 76ers’ hope during Game 7.

“The mindset is do whatever it takes,” Tatum said. “Do whatever it takes to win. Understand the magnitude of the moment. It’s win or go home. So just be ready to compete and have fun.”

Over the last two games, the Celtics have felt the weight of Philadelphia’s talent. Embiid has dented them with his scoring and his playmaking. Maxey has hurt them off the bounce and with his outside shooting. Paul George has damaged them with efficient play and defensive versatility. Even at 35 (he turns 36 on Saturday), he has looked Tatum and Brown in the eyes. And the Celtics’ offense, so powerful for much of the season, has not had enough answers over the last six quarters. Even their stellar offensive rebounding, a major factor early in the series, was taken away during much of Game 5.

“I think we’re playing into their hands a little bit,” Brown said. “I definitely think, even myself, the type of shots, the type of things they want us to do, that’s not what we’ve been doing all year. But maybe a shift in your approach can open some stuff up offensively for us. I think that’s what we need, the need for me to be dynamic. The need for me to put pressure on the rim and be aggressive. Tonight, I got into foul trouble early a little bit. That kind of took my foot off the gas aggressively on offense and defense. That just can’t happen. I gotta be better than that. I gotta help my group. My force wasn’t good enough for our guys tonight. I’ve gotta respond. We’ve gotta respond.”

Nine months ago, before this season started, the current scenario likely would have been regarded as a successful outcome for the Celtics regardless of what they did in Game 7. But that was before Mazzulla, Brown and the other returners proved an offseason overhaul would not destroy them. Before the organization conjured a deep bench out of players with minimal to no NBA experience. Before Tatum returned from a torn Achilles in March looking sharper than anyone reasonably could have expected. Before the Celtics won 56 games, earned the second seed and entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference favorite.

Now, to lose this series after leading it 3-1 would be a stunning disappointment. It would be a dark end to a season that has otherwise brought Brown so much joy.

“There’s been great teams, great players that have played in Game 7s,” Mazzulla said. “It’s part of the journey. So we didn’t play well tonight, and we move on to the next game.”

“Expecting a great atmosphere,” Brown added. “Expecting a great fight from our group. The last two games wasn’t the best. But, you know, you move on. I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited for Game 7.”