Jaylen Brown shows in the great second half against the Bucks why he deserves his money with the team

At the halftime buzzer on Monday, Jaylen Brown was 2-for-8 and had just nine points against the Milwaukee Bucks, with his team trailing by one. The Boston Celtics star looked like a completely different man in the second half.

He finished the night with 30 points and shot a solid 8-11 from the field after halftime. It was clear Boston needed something from someone not named Payton Pritchard, and Jaylen stepped up.

It lasted 24 minutes in which he only gave the Bucks throws.

“Jaylen is just a guy that can score in a lot of ways,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I think Jaylen has the ability to just stay in the game and you know, he picks his spots really well. He knows when to take over a game and he knows when to take his spot… I just like that he picks his spots well and he did a great job of that in the second half.”

The player we all saw on Monday is the same guy who had a monster run just before the 2023-24 season and then won both playoff MVP awards. Brown simply decided that he was stronger than everyone else and couldn't be stopped.

“A lot of my shots come in the paint,” Brown said. “I feel great about it over the course of a year. I've been efficient in the last few years, so… In the future, that's where I'll make my money, living in the paint.”

Tonight was all about money.

This wasn't like opening night against the New York Knicks. Even though it was a double-digit win, the Celtics had to fight for this game. In one of the most important parts of this battle, Brown scored seven straight times to help the Cs to their fourth win in as many games this season.

At some point in the third quarter, JB clearly decided it was time to win and went to work. From that point on, it was either a typical left elbow turnaround or a strong finish from Milwaukee's tough defense.

Look at this, this is Bully Ball:

The above looks like the basketball equivalent of hitting a crazy combo in Mortal Kombat. It was one blow after another for the Bucks and they had nothing for JB.

According to him, this will be a year full of efforts.