Paul George Outplays Jaylen Brown in First Battle of Celtics-76ers Trade Centerpieces originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Plenty of basketball fans were excited to watch the individual battle between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on Tuesday, but another star forward stole the show.
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Paul George scored a game-high 36 points on 14-of-22 shooting from the field in the Celtics‘ 123-101 win over the 76ers, helping his team jump to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
George, who landed in Boston as part of the offseason trade that sent Brown to Philadelphia, had 14 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, and the Celtics outscored the Sixers 32-19 in the final frame.
“What I’ve learned is, I’m a little bit better with more usage,” George said during an appearance on NBC’s postgame show. “That’s not a knock to my opportunities here in Philly. Quite frankly, I wasn’t healthy [enough] to take on the workload.
“Here in Boston, they gave me an opportunity to come out and play and be myself. Joe [Mazzulla] has integrated me right into the offense and allowed me to just be myself.”
That performance continued an impressive start for George, who noted that his body is “holding up wonderfully” after dealing with multiple injuries in his two seasons with the 76ers. Heading into the rivalry matchup, he was averaging 20.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 42.5 percent from 3-point range.
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“The beauty of this offense is the game is just gonna find me,” George said. “That’s one thing Joe preaches within our offense, just let it find you. I’m not pressing. I’m not rushing. I’m not forcing. I’ve always played that game, and my best nights have come from me just letting the game happen. That’s when I’m at my best.”
Brown, on the other hand, had a night to forget. He wasn’t able to get revenge against his former squad, scoring just 13 points in 26 minutes. Foul trouble limited his impact, as he picked up two fouls in the first quarter.
“Just got those two early fouls that kind of distorted my rhythm throughout the whole game and kind of struggled to get it back,” Brown said (via The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Chris Hine). “We had opportunities to get back into the game. It was a tie game at one point. They shot the hell out of the ball, executed well. We gotta get better.”
The 2024 Finals MVP finished with a plus-minus of minus-27, the worst mark of any player on either team. George had a plus-minus of plus-17.
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Of course, it’s a little early to declare that Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has already been vindicated for his bold move. For one night, though, George showed exactly why Boston was willing to pull the trigger on such a controversial deal.
