Oshae Brissett becomes unsung hero in ‘revenge game’ against Pacers

Oshae Brissett becomes unsung hero in ‘revenge game’ against Pacers appeared first on NBC Sports Boston

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics were sluggish on both ends of the court early in Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers. Then Oshae Brissett came into his own.

Brissett replaced an injured Luke Kornet (left wrist) as the team adopted a small-ball approach to start the second quarter of Thursday’s game, and after trailing by two points early in the second quarter, the Warriors went on a 20-0 run before winning, 126-110. Jaylen Brown (40 points, 17 in the second quarter) will naturally get most of the credit for Boston’s comeback, but Brissett’s impact shouldn’t be underestimated.

The former Pacer’s energy was infectious. He grabbed two rebounds in the first two minutes, and his solid defense helped stop Indiana from scoring for the first six minutes of the frame. His final numbers weren’t spectacular, but his contributions went far beyond the stat sheet.

“His presence, his energy, his athleticism is incredible,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Brissett. “He plays with a really high level of intensity and energy, which is big for us.”

Brissett ended up with two points, three rebounds and three steals, making him a +18 in 12 minutes, tying him with Brown for the best mark of the game.

Brissett, who had only been on the court in garbage time in the playoffs until Thursday, playing a maximum of five minutes, spoke about the change in mindset that comes with playing in the postseason versus the regular season.

“It’s totally different,” he said. “The preparation, the focus, the attention to detail is definitely elevated for these games. The practices, the film, the conversations between the players, it’s definitely several, several levels higher.”

“And, you know, this is my first experience being on a championship team, so it’s awesome. I feel like I’m able to focus on little things and things that I didn’t pay attention to before because I didn’t have that experience. So I feel like I’m in a good spot.”

Brissett’s performance may have been discounted by those who watch the box score, but it was certainly not missed by his teammates.

“I’m happy to hear that,” Holiday said of Brissett being +18. “He’s ready to go. He hasn’t played much in the playoffs this year. Maybe he didn’t play as much as he would have liked during the regular season, but I think that’s part of him making sacrifices to be ready to go.”

“It was going to be hard for him to get ready because he doesn’t normally play that kind of game. But the way he came out and played, he got a couple of rebounds and made a great save in the first two minutes or so. I was really excited and happy to see him play like that. First of all, it gave him confidence and secondly, it’s against his old team.”

Not only did Brissett bring energy to the court, he also seemed to energize the locker room, with fellow veteran big man Al Horford giving Brissett a boost during media appearances, per Jay King of The Athletic.

Depending on the extent of Kornet’s injury, the Celtics could choose to play more small-ball in upcoming series, and given their success with Brissett and Tatum at the 5 in Game 2, they may opt to go with a smaller lineup even if Kornet is healthy.

Either way, the Celtics are confident in their ability to compete against this team for a spot in the NBA Finals.

“They do a good job of controlling chaos. They move the ball, they move their bodies, they play fast,” Holiday said of the Pacers, “but we can do that too. We can play small, we can play big, we can slow down, we can play fast, we can execute.”

The Celtics will look to take a commanding 3-0 lead when the series shifts to Indiana on Saturday, with the game set to kick off at 8:30 pm ET.

Game 3 will be broadcast starting at 7:30 p.m. Celtics Pregame Live Broadcast on NBC Sports Boston.