Analyst hails Celtics' $285,393,640 star for "bullying" Luka Doncic with elite 1-v-1 defense: "Haven’t seen him struggle this much"

NBA analyst Jason Timpf took note of the solid defense played by Jaylen Brown on Luka Doncic during the marquee showdown between the defending champions Boston Celtics and longtime rivals LA Lakers on Saturday.

The host of Hoops Tonight took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his observations on the game, including how the Celtics star made it hard for 'The Don' in his first visit to Beantown as a member of the Lakers.

He wrote:

"Jaylen Brown is bulliying Luka. I haven't seen him struggle this much against an individual defender in a while."

Brown, who signed a 5-year, $285,393,640 contract with Boston in 2023, was among the defenders against Luka Doncic, who despite posting steady numbers obviously had his struggles throughout the game.

The five-time All-Star, who was surprisingly traded to the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks last month, finished with 34 points, eight rebounds and three assists while committing five turnovers.

The Lakers made a spirited fightback in the fourth quarter after being down by 20 points at the end of the third canto, but it fell short as they went on to lose, 111-101.

Boston, with the win, was able to level its season series with Los Angeles after the Lakers took their first encounter, 117-96, on Jan. 23.

Luka Doncic bracing for an even tougher stretch for the Lakers moving forward

While the LA Lakers have done well since acquiring Luka Doncic last month, winning nine of 12 games to date, the Slovenian superstar said they have to be ready for an even tougher stretch as the regular season winds down.

He made his thoughts known ahead of their road game against the Boston Celtics on Saturday, saying:

"I think we have a great team, we have great players. Chemistry is building. They're all great guys. I am just happy to be part of this.

"We gotta approach next game with the same mentality, go game by game. I know we got a tough stretch but we gotta approach these games with the same mentality."

Luka Doncic and the Lakers lost their game against the Celtics, 111-101, dropping them to a 40-22 record, third in the Western Conference.

Their road trip continues with stops in Brooklyn (21-42), Milwaukee (36-26) and Denver (41-22) next. The Lakers also have meetings with the Bucks and Nuggets as well as the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and OKC Thunder down the stretch.

The possible absence, too, of LeBron James will also be factored in after he failed to finish the game against the Celtics after suffering what was reported to be a groin injury.