BOSTON — This was the reason. This was the vision. This, right here, was why Leon Rose parted with all those draft picks, why he imported Mikal Bridges. This. This was why. This was it. Let’s put this in the simplest terms possible:

Game 1 was in Jaylen Brown’s hands. And then it wasn’t.

The basketball was in Brown’s hands. And then it wasn’t.

Bridges simply took the ball away from him.