There were probably people (not me, because I didn’t think about this game at all before it happened) who were thinking that Bruce Brown would “lock down” Kyrie Irving in this one. Brown has the reputation of being a good defender, Irving has the reputation of being crazy, I bet Pistons fans on the whole were slightly optimistic about their chances.
Even though Irving ended up dropping 45, it’s entirely possible that Brown did lock down Irving to the fullest extent possible. Who knows what would’ve happened if Tim Frazier had been defending him instead of Brown. Irving might’ve gone for 100! So without watching the game in full, I’m going to absolve Brown of some of the blame for Irving going off. That’s how generous and kind-hearted I am. If Pistons fans want to come in here and say that Brown was getting cooked all night and his supposed good defense is nothing but a mirage, I’ll immediately un-absolve him.
But even if he did get cooked, Brown was also doing some cooking of his own. Without looking it up, I’m thinking he’s averaging around 1 point per game this season, so him scoring 17 indicates that Irving was playing no defense at all.