PORTLAND, Ore. — Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown caught Larry Bird on Sunday, but was upset he could not hold off the Portland Trail Blazers.

With 37 points in the Celtics’ 114-108 loss, Brown tied Bird for the most consecutive games with at least 30 points in franchise history. Brown, whose streak stands at nine games, will have a chance to pass Bird on Tuesday when Boston visits the Utah Jazz. Still, Brown was in no mood to discuss matching the Hall of Famer’s mark after Boston squandered a chance to beat Portland with six fourth-quarter turnovers.

“I’m more so focused on trying to win every game,” Brown said. “Tonight was a winnable game that we dropped. So that kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth, you know?”

Other Celtics were more willing to discuss Brown’s achievement. Joe Mazzulla said Brown has given the team a lot more than just scoring.

“It’s extremely difficult (to put together such a streak),” Mazzulla said. “And not even that, it’s even harder for a guy like him to play balanced basketball and play team basketball. You saw it with some (of his) assists down the stretch there. Whether it was to Hugo (Gonzalez) or Derrick (White) on the (3-pointer) that gave us a shot at the end (by cutting the Celtics’ deficit to one point), where we went fast with 44 seconds left. So not only is it extremely difficult to do that, it’s extremely difficult to play well-balanced basketball. And I think that’s something that he does consistently for us, whether it’s with his playmaking or his defense, on both ends of the floor.”

Derrick White also praised Brown’s consistency.

“Every night he shows up, and he’s a big leader for us on and off the court,” White said. “So he’s been unbelievable all year. He’s one of the best players in the NBA and he’s been showing it every night.”

Bird scored 30 points or more during nine straight games in 1984-85. On the final day of his streak (March 3, 1985), his 30 points against the Detroit Pistons were little more than a footnote in a 138-129 Celtics win. Kevin McHale scored 56 points that day to break the Boston franchise scoring record, though Bird went on to top McHale’s mark with 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks less than two weeks later.

Bird’s record still stands, though Jayson Tatum tied it while beating the San Antonio Spurs in overtime on April 30, 2021.

Brown left little doubt Sunday that he would match Bird’s streak, scoring 13 first-quarter points. He scored another 14 points in the second quarter before reaching the 30-point mark on a free throw with 5:28 left in the third quarter.

“Just preparation,” Brown said when asked what has gone into his consistency during this stretch. “Preparing each and every night to do whatever it takes for my team and doing it in an efficient manner.”

The Celtics are 6-3 during Brown’s streak, which started in December. He regretted that he couldn’t deliver another win against the Blazers. Besides Brown playing well, shooting 14-for-24 from the field and adding seven rebounds and four assists, he was involved in several late turnovers that prevented the Celtics from finding another win. White, though, took the blame for some of those turnovers.