Message from Kevin Garnett to Celtics’ Jaylen Brown after Game 2 masterclass against Pacers

Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett loved Jaylen Brown’s brilliant performance in the Celtics’ win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday night.

Brown dropped 40 points in a scintillating outing, going 14 of 27 from the floor, 4 of 10 from three-point range and making eight of his 11 free throw attempts. He added five rebounds and a few assists in the victory.

It was just the latest terrific performance in what has been a postseason full of them for Brown. In Boston’s Game 1 victory, Brown scored 26 points and sent the affair into overtime with a three-pointer. He’s averaging 24.8 points and 6.5 rebounds over 36 minutes per game this postseason while posting shooting times of 54.4/36.5/63.5.

If anyone has playoff success in Beantown, it’s Garnett, who won a championship and appeared in two NBA Finals as a member of the Celtics. Many believe Garnett should have beaten Paul Pierce for Finals MVP in 2008, thanks in part to his masterful performance in Boston’s Game 6 Finals victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

These Celtics still have a long way to go to compete with these KG-led teams, but with the way things stand, Brown and Co. could very well end up hanging another banner in the rafters at TD Garden next month.

Jaylen Brown played angry in Celtics’ Game 2 win

Brown felt he should have made the All-NBA teams. He did not do it. To make matters worse, the player who made the All-NBA third team ahead of Brown — Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton — was playing opposite him Thursday night.

Obviously, Brown was the exception and had arguably the best game of his career in guiding the Celtics to a 2-0 series lead.

Not only was Brown terrific offensively, but he was also exceptional on the defensive end.

The three-time All-Star recorded 23 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 33.5 minutes per night during the regular season, shooting 49.9 percent from the field, 35.4 percent long distance and 70.3 percent on charity ground.

He had a strong argument to make the All-NBA third team against Haliburton, who recorded 20.1 points per game but also led the league with 10.9 assists. The problem with Haliburton is that he’s not a very good defender, while Brown is certainly a two-way player.

Brown insisted after the game that he didn’t care about his All-NBA snub.

“I mean, we’re two games away from the finals, so honestly, I don’t have time to give a (expletive),” Brown said, via Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston.

Clearly, Brown shouldn’t need any additional motivation at this point in the season. The Celtics are playing for a championship; not All-NBA selections. But it’s entirely possible that Brown lit a little more fire under him before Game 2. Professional athletes are hyper-competitive and they will positively use anything they view as an affront.

It looks like Brown definitely channeled that energy in the best way possible Thursday night.

The Celtics will look to stay undefeated on the road in the playoffs when they travel to Indiana for Game 3 on Saturday night.