Jaylen Brown makes hamstring-testing play in his first 36 seconds back


Jaylen Brown made more than one fine play in his return from hamstring injury, but his first play was quick and worrisome.

Brown was originally listed as doubtful until prior to game time, but he did suit up and came in with 7:14 remaining in the first quarter. He wasted no time in testing the leg.

Exactly 36 seconds after joining his teammates on the floor, Jaylen stole the ball by sprinting (test #1) to a loose Philly ball on the floor - bending to pick it up (test #2) and getting the steal - then dashing down court (test #3) for the jam (test #4). We all breathed a sigh of relief when he remained on the floor and was effective. He looked good.

Brown went on to score 13 points in 24 minutes on 5-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-5 on three-pointers. He also had four rebounds. All four of those steps in the sprint/bend/dash/jam sequence tested that injured hamstring.

No shocker here, but Charles Barkley prior to the game, picked the 76'ers to win. Wrong again, Chuck. I felt the Celtics needed to go to Philadelphia with the two wins in Boston under their belts. This game was never in the bag until the end.



Jaylen was determined to play in this game. It was Marcus Smart who turned the game around by taking the charge on Ben Simmons, but Jaylen was critical in the win. Here's hoping there are no negative repercussions from aggravation of the injury and he gets to play in the next game in Philly.



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Photo via Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports