Jaylen Brown looked less than pleased by how the Boston Celtics decided to play the final moments of their blowout win against the New York Knicks to start the 2024-25 NBA season.

With the game out of reach when the fourth quarter began, the Celtics had nailed 29 3-pointers, tying an NBA record. As the game continued, Boston switched tactics from shooting regular shots to shooting exclusively from beyond the arc in an attempt to break the record.

However, from the eight-minute mark of the fourth quarter, the Celtics somehow missed all of their attempts from beyond the arc. Still, Boston had one more chance to break the record with 30 seconds remaining in the game with Payton Pritchard dribbling the ball.

Even with the ball in his hands, Pritchard did not shoot the ball. Rather, he held onto it as the shot clock ran out for the shot clock violation, giving the Knicks the ball for the final possession, which was inconsequential considering the game effectively was over by the time the fourth quarter began.

The decision was ultimately an example of the Celtics following the NBA’s unwritten rules when it comes to running down the clock in games that are no longer a contest, rather than taking an extra shot in an attempt to run up the score – even if in this instance it could have been record-breaking.

As the clock ran out with the ball in Pritchard’s hands, cameras spotted Brown, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, looking less than enthused with Boston’s decision to just hold onto the ball instead of going for history. Brown, with his hands behind his back, chatted with Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla as the game ended with Boston agonizingly close to a new record.

It wasn’t just Brown who was left unimpressed with how the game finished. Fellow Celtics star Jayson Tatum couldn’t help but comment on how Boston couldn’t convert one 3-pointer with just over eight minutes remaining in the game as he spoke to TNT Sports’ Allie LaForce.

Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics looks on against the New York Knicks during the fourth quarter at TD Garden on October 22, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts

Jaylen Brown looked less than pleased with how the Boston Celtics missed out on history ( 

Image:

Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)

“I’m surprised we missed every 3 for the last eight minutes,” Tatum admitted after the fact. “We’re gonna be upset about that.” Additionally, Brown spoke to reporters after the game to discuss what was going through his mind as he saw his teammates miss 3-pointers seemingly at will.

“It was almost like we got jinxed or something,” Brown admitted. “When we were just playing, having fun, playing our style of basketball, everything was going in. Once the crowd got into it, and we started hunting them, we couldn’t hit the broad side of the barn.

“Everything was off. We had a bunch of great looks and it was like a lid on the basket. So that just shows we’re not a team that’s hunting 3s. I mean we played the game, we did what we were supposed to do. But I think towards the end, it was tough because we wasn’t playing the way we normally played. But we still had a bunch of great looks.”

Even though the Celtics missed out on making history, the fact that the team played so well, especially after receiving their championship rings, was something Tatum applauded the team for. Tatum noticed the team put their emotions to the side to make sure they approached the game against the Knicks correctly.

“I’m really proud of the way we played – tonight was emotional,” Tatum told LaForce. “This is a celebration of what we accomplished last year. Tonight was special, then to kind of have to reset and go try to win a basketball game against a really good team on opening night. The way that we just came out and responded, played the right way. I’m proud of us.