Paul George scored 36 points in his return to Philadelphia on Tuesday night, hitting six 3-pointers and scoring 14 in the fourth quarter as the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-101.
The game was billed as the first meeting of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown since the summer blockbuster trade that sent Brown to Philadelphia and George to Boston, but George stole the show. Tatum scored 21 points and outplayed his former teammate, while Brown ran into early foul trouble and finished with just 13 points in his first game against Boston since the trade.
Brown picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter and was whistled for his fourth early in the second half. Tatum tried to greet Brown before the opening tip with a tap on the shoulder and a thump on the chest; his former teammate ignored him. George, traded for Brown after two seasons with the 76ers, enjoyed the homecoming: after sinking his fourth 3-pointer to put Boston ahead 100-82, he appeared to make a bowling-style gesture toward the visitors' bench.
George said afterward that being healthy has been the difference in Boston. He entered the game averaging 20.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.3 steals while shooting 42.5 percent from three-point range, and his usage rate has climbed back to 28.5 after dropping to 23.4 across his two seasons in Philadelphia.
The win was Boston's fourth in a row and its ninth in 10 games, moving the Celtics to 9-2 and first place in the Eastern Conference. Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 24 points, but Philadelphia fell to 9-3.
The Sixers survived a scare late in the first half when Joel Embiid landed awkwardly and hit the court on a missed layup attempt, curling up on the floor as VJ Edgecombe dunked over him. Embiid, who has slumped with his shot this season and missed 27 of his previous 30 three-point attempts, gingerly returned to the court and opened the second half with his first three-pointer since the second game of the season.
Boston completes a back-to-back at Toronto on Wednesday. The Sixers host the Raptors on Thursday.
