Celtics' Jaylen Brown on a level with Larry Bird after latest performance

Brown has been going scorched earth all through December 

Brown has now scored 61 points in his last two games, both against the Pacers, at least 30 in every game he's played in December, and even surpassed 40 once — he opened the month by scoring 42 in a win over the rival New York Knicks. 

Most importantly, the Celtics have gone 6-3 during Brown's current streak and are now in firm position as the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed at 19-11.

Overall for the year, Brown is averaging 29.4 points with 6.4 boards and 4.9 assists while registering a 49.7% clip from the field and 36.4% from long range, both above his career marks. 

Making more history could help Brown get respect 

Brown will now try to tie Bird's streak of nine on Sunday when the Celtics travel across the country to face the Trail Blazers in Portland. But either way, he already made history earlier in the season. Brown became the first Celtics player ever to record 35 points, five rebounds and five assists in only 25 minutes back on Nov. 6. 

If being named the MVP of both the Eastern Conference Finals and then the NBA Finals en route to Boston capturing the franchise's 18th NBA title in 2024 wasn't enough to provide Brown with the respect he deserves, putting his cape on and leading the Celtics to the playoffs without Tatum should do the trick, or at least will be impossible to deny.