Paul George Scores 36 in His Return to Philadelphia as the Celtics Rout Jaylen Brown and the 76ers

By The Arena Staff

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 10, 2026 — The whole night was sold as Jayson Tatum against Jaylen Brown. Paul George, the third name in the trade, didn't seem to care.

George hit six 3-pointers and scored 36 points in his first game back in Philadelphia, Tatum added 21, and the Boston Celtics beat the 76ers 123-101 on Tuesday night, according to The Associated Press. It was the first meeting between the teams since the July trade that sent Brown to the Sixers and George to Boston.

Brown never found a rhythm against his former team. He picked up two fouls in the first quarter and two more in the third, NBC Sports Philadelphia reported, and finished with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting with four turnovers in under 26 minutes. Boston outscored Philadelphia by 27 points while he was on the floor, according to the official box score.

The two former teammates kept their distance in warmups, the AP reported, and the 2024 NBA Finals MVP got the first jab in when he picked off a Tatum pass and fed Tyrese Maxey for a 3. That was about as good as it got for Philadelphia, which led only once all night, by a point in the first quarter.

Boston led by 11 at halftime before the Sixers stormed back in the third and tied it at 76. The Celtics answered by closing the quarter on a 15-6 run, then opened the fourth with a 9-0 burst behind back-to-back 3s from Payton Pritchard and one from George. By the middle of the period George had scored Boston's last eight points, capped by a 3 and an and-one, and the lead was 23, NBC Sports Boston reported.

George finished 14 of 22 from the field and 6 of 11 from deep. Tatum went 8 of 17 with six rebounds, four assists and two blocks, including a third-quarter dunk over LeBron James. Pritchard scored 18 off the bench, Sam Hauser made four 3s for 12 points, and Hugo González added 10. Boston shot 22 of 49 from 3-point range.

Maxey led the Sixers with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Anfernee Simons, another former Celtic, scored 17 off the bench, Joel Embiid had 16 with 11 of them at the free-throw line, and James finished with 11 on 4-of-12 shooting.

The win moved Boston to 9-2 and past Philadelphia, now 9-3, for first place in the Eastern Conference, according to NBC Sports Boston. The Celtics play at Toronto on Wednesday night. Brown gets his rematch in Boston on Jan. 21.

Sourcing: AP, NBC Sports Boston and the NBA.com box score.