In his first public appearance in Boston since his suspension, which led to his release from the team, eight days ago, Ime Udoka said, “They’re going to be perennial.” He went on to sаy that it was a “natural progression” for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the star duo of the Celtics, to become All-NBA players.

Before Sunday’s game in Houston, the away team’s former bench supervisor issued a challenge to his former squad, saying that they should beаt them while loading up to restrict the scoring impact of Brown and Tatum.

Neither of them scored 20 points, thus they only managed to score 31, which is far lower than the 50 points they usually score as a pair.

Nevertheless, Brown not only scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Boston’s 116-107 victory over the Rockets, completing the regular-season sweep of the Rockets, but he also equaled Alperen Sengun for the game-high in assists with 10. His three steals were the most of any teammate.

The two-time All-Star, as usual, was pivotal in the Celtics’ relentless pursuit of the lead throughout the game. His team scored points time and time again because he was comfortable making simple decisions and not trying too hard to create for himself. This was true whether he was leading the team’s transition аttаck, operating pick-and-rolls with Kristaps Porzingis (who scored 32 points), or feeding the seven-foot-3 center on post-ups.

“We’ve got a terrific team, which doesn’t require me to score the ball— it demands you to be a basketball player,” Brown said following Boston’s 33-10 improvement.

“So, tonight, they were overaggressive helping at the rim, and we had kickouts and wide-open shots all night, so, just keep making the right play over and over again, and that’s what it’s about.”

“It speaks about his leadership, too,” Porzingis added, joining him at the podium. He knows he doesn’t have to score 30 points every game. Sometimes he can have a night when he doesn’t shoot the ball, but he helps his teammates out by making good passes and readings, and it sets us off like a domino effect.

“We’ve got a terrific team, which doesn’t require me to score the ball— it demands you to be a basketball player,” Brown said following Boston’s 33-10 improvement.

“So, tonight, they were overaggressive helping at the rim, and we had kickouts and wide-open shots all night, so, just keep making the right play over and over again, and that’s what it’s about.”

“It speaks about his leadership, too,” Porzingis added, joining him at the podium. He knows he doesn’t have to score 30 points every game. Sometimes he can have a night when he doesn’t shoot the ball, but he helps his teammates out by making good passes and readings, and it sets us off like a domino effect.

This is a natural progression for Brown, who is now enjoying his finest basketball season as a professional, fresh off a season in which he was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Despite skepticism, his development as a playmaker has been vital in the Celtics’ late-January NBA playoff lead and will be pivotal to their chances of winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June.