Celtics' Brown backs partnership with Tatum: 'We can play together'

Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown sees no reason why he and Jayson Tatum can't co-exist.

"I think we can play together," Brown told reporters postgame Saturday after registering his first career triple-double, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "We have played together well for the majority of our career and things like that.

"The last year or so hasn't gone as expected, but I think a lot of the adversity that we're kind of going through now is going to help us grow and get better in the future."

Boston has played sub-.500 basketball over the past two seasons after previously reaching three Eastern Conference finals in four years. Brown and Tatum played key roles in two of those deep playoff runs and are among the NBA's top scorers this season.

However, both have been under scrutiny for not sharing the rock. Celtics guard Marcus Smart singled out Brown and Tatum in November for not passing the ball enough.

Ime Udoka has spoken about wanting to help the duo grow as playmakers since taking Boston's head-coaching gig last summer.

"Some of the games you could see (Brown) overthinking it at times, when to pass and when to shoot, and he's starting to figure out that rhythm of simplicity and making the easy pass and trusting your teammates and not playing to the crowd - all of the things we preached all year," Udoka said after Brown posted a career-high 11 assists in the Celtics' 99-75 victory over the New York Knicks.

"But it's a balance when you're a natural scorer, and you're trying to shift your focus to how teams are defending you."