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Jaylen Brown · Predictably charged up, and eager to remind the Miami Heat of who the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed belongs to, Jaylen Brown didn’t even require a full minute to deliver the series’ first statement. Harmonizing his stride and aggressiveness to match the Boston Celtics’ blistering-quick first quarter outburst, Brown puts Jaime Jaquez Jr. through a tornado of a move, hurrying down the floor with a right-side drive before promptly decelerating with a between-the-leg dribble. With the bait officially set and the three-time All-Star appearing relaxed, Brown proceeds forcefully, pivoting down the baseline with a smoothly-sequenced spin move, setting his path for a rim-rattling two-handed flush, drawing the admiration of the crowd. A master in the art of setting the tone with the statistics to prove it, Brown authored the game’s first five points, guiding the Celtics to both a 14-0 open and ultimately, a wire-to-wire victory in Game One on April 21, 2024. Using the red-hot start in the series opener to their advantage, Brown and the Celtics successfully avoided both heavy minutes and the unnecessary pressures of a stressful game. In need of only a dozen shots to prove his point, the Boston star contributed 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one block, and three 3-pointers across 34 minutes. · State of Mint