Jaylen Brown threatens Larry Bird record as Celtics stars keep exceeding expectations

The Boston Celtics are one of the NBA’s hottest teams right now, confirming their form with a 140-122 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.

Joe Mazulla’s team has now won nine of its last 11 games, including four in a row, a streak that has propelled them into third place in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics sit just two games behind the New York Knicks and 4.5 games behind the conference-leading Detroit Pistons.

With less than half the regular season complete and a number of teams lurking behind them, there is still a long way to go before their postseason fate is certain. Recent performances, however, suggest they can be confident of making the playoffs and perhaps even going deep, against the odds.

Supporting cast shines alongside Brown

Albly supported by Payton Pritchard (29 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds), Sam Heuser (23 points, 4 rebounds), and Derrick White (21 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds), Jaylen Brown led the scoring against the Pacers with 30 points, adding four assists and three rebounds.

Brown’s brilliance is, of course, nothing new. The 29-year-old is already a four-time All-Star and was named NBA Finals MVP as Boston won its most recent championship in 2024. Now, he is on the verge of matching one of the Celtics’, and indeed the NBA’s, greatest ever players.

Brown chasing Larry Bird’s legendary streak

In the victory over the Pacers, Brown recorded 30 points or more for the eighth straight game, a feat only one other Celtics player has ever achieved. That player, of course, was Larry Bird, who did so in nine consecutive outings in 1985.

Before the end of 2025, Brown will have the opportunity to both match and surpass Bird’s record, with games against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, December 28, and the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, December 30.

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