By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Paul George dominated his return on Tuesday night, dropping 36 points to carry the Boston Celtics past the Philadelphia 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
However, most of the hype centered on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown meeting as opponents for the first time since the summer swap, which also involved 36-year-old George.
Acquired from the Sixers after two seasons in Philadelphia, the nine-time All-Star buried six triples to push Boston to its ninth victory in ten outings. After hitting his fourth long-range shot to build a comfortable cushion, he appeared to flip off a fan near the visitor’s bench.
“He looked me dead in my eyes, dropped the ball on the ground as if I’m a dog to go fetch or go get it, instead of passing the ball to me like a normal fan would do. So then I rolled him a middle finger in return,” he explained after the game.
Tatum added 21 points and outplayed Brown throughout the evening. Both stars had stayed quiet leading up to tip-off regarding their reportedly frosty dynamic, and the friction showed right away.
Before the jump, the 28-year-old forward tried greeting his former C’s teammate with a tap on the shoulder and a chest thump, only to be ignored. The silence held after the final horn, even as Brown spoke with nearly everyone else on Boston’s roster without issue. “To be honest, I wasn’t paying attention,” said the 30-year-old forward afterward.
Foul trouble ruined Brown’s debut against the franchise where he won 2024 NBA Finals Most Valuable honors. He drew two quick whistles in the opening quarter and picked up his fourth soon after halftime.
Boston controlled the contest from deep, hitting 22 of 49 attempts from beyond the arc, while Brown finished with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
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