Jaylen Brown's warning to Donovan Mitchell comes true as Celtics dismantle Cavaliers

Jaylen Brown made sure to remind Donovan Mitchell that once the game starts, there are no friendships on the basketball court.

Midway through the third quarter and with the Cavaliers looking for a spark down 78-64 to the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals , Cleveland ran a play to get Mitchell the ball downhill to get some sort of momentum to cut the deficit before it was too late. After getting the ball from Max Strus on a dribble handoff, Mitchell drove into the lane, speeding past a contesting Brown.

Taking off on his left foot on the left side of the rim, Mitchell extended his right arm in hopes of finger-rolling the ball off the glass and into the hoop. Brown contested the play perfectly, meeting Mitchell's hand and emphatically blocking the 27-year-old's shot attempt off the backboard.

READ MORE: Jaylen Brown sends Donovan Mitchell clear friendship message ahead of NBA Playoff series

READ MORE: Boston Celtics show how much they have learned to ease past nemesis Miami Heat

Brown's momentum carried him into Mitchell, causing the latter to remain on the floor for a handful of moments. That was enough for the Celtics to advantage of the 5-on-4 opportunity as Derrick White found a trailing Brown, who then Eurostepped around Strus and Evan Mobley.

With Strus and Mobley in the air, Brown dropped off a bounce pass to Jrue Holiday, who easily laid it in to push Boston's lead to 16. That play was indicative of how the Celtics played as a whole, defeating the Cavaliers 120-95, as Brown scored 32 points, outscored only by Mitchell's 33.

Brown's sequence calls to mind his warning before the Celtics tipped off their series against Mitchell and the Cavaliers, especially with the rivalry between the two teams, historically. Despite being friends off the court, Brown noted that there are no friendships at this stage of the playoffs. "Ain't no friends in the playoffs. You got to be ready to play. That's it," Brown told reporters before the series .

Follow us on X for the best and latest in sports news

Mitchell shared Brown's sentiment that once the playoffs begin, there are no friends on the court. "I stopped talking to them when there was a possibility we were going to play them. But it's all competition and I expect nothing but the best from them and vice versa," Mitchell said.

"We've got to go out there and take care of business in a hostile environment, but it's always great to play against friends, compete against friends, and I know it's going to be tough. It's going to be fun, and I'm excited."

After the win, Brown made note of how defense was something the Celtics wanted to pay attention to, especially considering how dynamic of a scorer Mitchell was.

"We want to set the tone on defense," Brown told Stephanie Ready. "We kept them under 100. But we feel like we got an answer for everything. So we just play the game the right way and we see what they wanna take away and then we play after that."

Brown certainly honed in on the message, showing that he was a multifaceted threat on both sides of the floor. Mitchell found that out the hard way with his shot being blocked emphatically.

But now Mitchell presumably understands better that they are no friendship on the court once the playoffs begin. Game 2 in Boston will be on May 9.