Veteran Boston Celtics big man Al Horford had some high praise for star Celtics small forward Jaylen Brown‘s defense in Boston’s 105-102 Game 4 win vs. the Indiana Pacers at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse this past Monday (May 27) night.

“He’s impacting the game not only on offense but on defense, and he’s doing it at a very high level,” said Horford after the series-clinching win, courtesy of MassLive’s Souichi Terada. “We ask a lot of him. Tonight, he started out guarding (Andrew) Nembhard, then he switched up to (Pascal) Siakam, he probably was on (Myles) Turner. He was on different people all over.”

“That versatility is what makes us so tough as a team, I think, is because we have multiple guys that can do that and Jaylen does it at a very high level,” he added.

Brown’s elite play on both ends of the court in this series earned him the third-ever Larry Bird Eastern Conference finals Most Valuable Player award.

The Georgia native’s clutch offensive play as critical to this series win as his clamps were, and will be key moving forward in the 2024 NBA Finals as Boston squares off with whichever ball club emerges from the Dallas Mavericks – Minnesota Timberwolves Western Conference finals.

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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire