‘It still stings’ – LeBron James torched Jaylen Brown and Celtics in Game 7 thriller the last time Boston faced Cavaliers in NBA playoffs
Jaylen Brown is still haunted by the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals.
The Celtics and Cavaliers square off on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their 2024 second-round series.
It will mark the first time the teams have met in the postseason since LeBron James put on a clinic in the Game 7 decider some six years ago.
The King would not be denied an eighth straight trip to the NBA Finals that year and put up 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists in the 87-79 win.
James scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter for his sixth straight Game 7 win, continuing his streak of utter dominance in the Eastern Conference.
That 2018 meeting was Brown’s second career playoff run and the first for running mate Jayson Tatum.
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The young Celtics squad has come a long way since then, though, reaching the 2022 NBA Finals which they lost in six games to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
Despite their growth in recent years, Brown admits LeBron's clutch performance in Game 7 still stings to this day.
"It still stings that we lost Game 7 in 2018," he told reporters ahead of the Cavs series.
"We’re gonna make sure this series is different."
Luckily for Boston, James is no longer a factor in the Eastern Conference.
He's not much of a factor in the Western Conference either after his Lakers suffered a gentleman's sweep against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets in their first round match-up.
The Eastern Conference has become a more even playing field since James left for Tinseltown in 2018 and the Celtics are one of the teams who have most benefited most from LeBron's departure.
Joe Mazzulla's talented squad have been a consistent contender out East in the post LeBron-Cavs years and finished the regular season with the best record in the conference (64-18).
In the first round of this year's playoffs, the No. 1 seeded Celtics took care of the Miami Heat in five games.
They are now in the Eastern Conference semis and face a spirited Cavs team who secured the fourth seed after finishing the season with a 48-34 record.
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LeBron's former team are now spearheaded by Donovan Mitchell, the walking bucket who led the Cavs to a Game 7 victory against the ascending Orlando Magic in their first-round playoff series.
Mitchell dropped 50 points in Game 6 and 39 points in Game 7 to seal the 4-3 series win, with his 89 points being the second most in Games 6 and 7 in NBA history, trailing only Allen Iverson's 90 in 2001.
Mitchell and Brown are real life buddies but the former has assured fans that friendship will be suspended for the upcoming series.
"Ain't no friends in the playoffs," Brown said. "You just gotta get ready to play, so that's what I've gotta say."
Three-time All-Star Brown finished the regular season averaging 23.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists while shooting 49.9% from the field and 35.4% from the three-point range.
Boston heads into the series against the Cavs as the clear favourites.
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Tatum is an MVP-calibre player, Brown is a perennial All-Star and the likes of Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Jrue Holiday are more than a handful for any team.
Tipoff for Game 1 is from TD Garden in Boston and is set for 7 p.m. ET (12:00 a.m. BST).