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PHILADELPHIA — Paul George scored 36 points in his return to Philadelphia, and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-101 on Tuesday night in the first meeting since the July trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Sixers.
Jayson Tatum added 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Brown, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, was called for two fouls in the first quarter and his fourth 80 seconds into the third. He finished with 13 points in just under 26 minutes against his former team.
Celtics Pull Away After The 76ers Tie It In The Third
Boston led 62-51 at halftime, and Philadelphia came back in the third quarter. A Dean Wade 3-pointer tied the game at 76, and Tyrese Maxey hit another to tie it at 79 with 3:19 left in the period.
On the next possession, Payton Pritchard hit a 3-pointer to put Boston back in front. The Celtics went into the fourth ahead 91-82. Before Philadelphia scored again, Pritchard had made two more 3s and George had hit another to push it to 100-82. Off the bench, Pritchard gave Boston 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.
George, who made 14 of his 22 shots and 6 of his 11 3-point attempts, scored 14 points in less than four minutes of the fourth quarter. His first basket of the quarter was a 3-pointer that made it 100-82, and Tatum set up his last two 3-pointers. Boston’s lead later reached 29.
“He took ownership of those fourth quarter minutes,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said in postgame video. Mazzulla said that opening the quarter with the PG lineups has been important for Boston.
Tyrese Maxey Leads The 76ers With 24 Points
Maxey led Philadelphia with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Anfernee Simons had 17 points off the bench, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter.
Joel Embiid scored 16 points with 6 rebounds, getting 11 of them at the free-throw line while going 2-of-9 from the field. Philadelphia made 11 of its 37 3-point attempts, and Boston went 22-of-49.
Boston improved to 9-2 with its ninth win in 10 games, and Philadelphia fell to 9-3. The Celtics finish a back-to-back at the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET. The 76ers host Toronto on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.
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