Boston Celtics forward Paul George explained his middle-finger gesture toward a Philadelphia 76ers fan after Tuesday night’s 123-101 road win at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

The fourth-quarter interaction came during George’s first game back in Philadelphia since the offseason trade that sent him to Boston. His return also coincided with the first meeting between former Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown following the deal.

George addressed the incident afterward in footage from NBC Sports Philadelphia. ClutchPoints shared his explanation Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, detailing his account of the courtside exchange.

“He looked me dead in my eyes, dropped the ball on the ground as if like I'm a dog to go fetch or go get it, instead of passing the ball to me like a normal fan would do, and so yeah, so then I rolled him a middle finger in return.”

"Yeah there was a fan being an a*shole. Ball rolled to him. He looked me dead in my eyes. Dropped the ball on the ground as if I'm a dog to go fetch… so then I rolled him a middle finger."

Celtics' Paul George on flipping off a Sixers fan last night.

(via @NBCSPhilly)… https://t.co/qMmMwuNPoG

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 11, 2026

George said the gesture followed an interaction with one spectator after a loose ball reached the fan. He described the fan’s handling of the ball as the reason for his response.

The exchange came during a strong performance against his former team. George scored a game-high 36 points on 14-of-22 shooting, including six makes on 11 attempts from 3-point range. He added five rebounds in 30 minutes.

Article Continues Below

George scored 14 points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics pulled away. Boston improved to 9-2, moving ahead of the 9-3 Sixers atop the Eastern Conference.

Tatum finished with 21 points, while Brown scored 13 in his first matchup against the Celtics since the summer trade sent him to the 76ers and George to the Celtics.

George’s explanation centered on that individual encounter during an otherwise successful return to Philadelphia.