Jaylen Brown’s first game against his former team did not go the way the Philadelphia 76ers had hoped. In a matchup circled on calendars since his offseason trade, Brown and the Sixers were blown out 123-101 by the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.
Brown finished with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field in 25 minutes and 49 seconds of action. He also picked up four personal fouls, while former teammate Jayson Tatum outscored him with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting.
The night started with plenty of intrigue, as Brown appeared to brush off a pregame greeting from Tatum before the two shared a brief side hug.
Once the game began, Brown came out aggressive. He had eight points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in the first half, going 2-of-4 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Tatum had an answer for him early, though. In the first quarter, the Celtics star stayed in front of his longtime teammate and poked the ball loose to force a turnover and give Boston the ball back.
Boston took a 62-51 lead into halftime and never looked back. The Celtics outscored Philadelphia 32-19 in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 29 points. Brown added just five points after the break.
Instead, it was Paul George who stole the show. George, who was sent to Boston in the deal that landed Brown in Philadelphia, poured in 36 points on 14-of-22 shooting against his former team.
Article Continues BelowBrown had made it clear before the game that he was not interested in mending fences with Tatum. “There’s nothing to talk about. He’s on his side, I’m on my side,” he said.
The loss dropped the Sixers to 9-3 on the season, while the Celtics improved to 9-2.
Brown will get another crack at his old team soon enough. The 76ers and Celtics meet again on Jan. 21 in Boston, which will mark Brown’s return to TD Garden.