Philadelphia – In the first meeting between the newly‑restructured Sixers and Celtics since the July trade that sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia and Paul George to Boston, the Celtics secured a convincing 123‑101 victory at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Tuesday night.
Game highlights
Boston’s forward Paul George led the way with 36 points on 14‑for‑22 shooting, while Jayson Tatum added 21. Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey contributed 24 points, but the Sixers struggled to keep pace, falling to a 9‑3 record.
Jaylen Brown, returning from his trade, was limited by foul trouble early, posting 13 points, five rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes. He re‑entered the game in the second quarter but continued to battle fouls, picking up his fourth personal foul with 10:40 left in the third.
Key moments
The game opened with a highly anticipated Brown‑vs‑Tatum matchup. Brown’s early steal and subsequent fast‑break three‑pointer sparked excitement among the home crowd, but a misstep saw him dribble the ball off his foot and out of bounds.
Boston started strong, shooting 9‑for‑12 in the opening quarter and building an 11‑7 lead. A Sam Hauser triple extended the Celtics’ advantage to 12 points, and a Hugo Gonzalez jumper later pushed the gap to 16.
Philadelphia’s three‑point shooting was a major issue, missing 12 of their first 14 attempts. The Sixers were ranked 27th in the league for three‑point frequency outside of garbage time and 22nd for three‑point accuracy, according to Cleaning the Glass.
Injury scare
Joel Embiid suffered a scare late in the second quarter after a hard fall following a missed layup. He rose gingerly and finished the half with 16 points and six rebounds, later draining a long‑overdue three‑pointer to start the third quarter.
Second half
Without Brown, the Sixers rallied, with Dean Wade forcing a shot‑clock violation and later hitting a three to tie the game at 76‑all. However, Boston responded, and Tatum’s third‑quarter highlight dunk on LeBron James, followed by a key three‑pointer, restored a nine‑point lead.
In the fourth quarter, Paul George celebrated a triple that pushed Boston’s lead to 100‑82. The Sixers could not recover, and the game ended with a 123‑101 Celtics win.
Looking ahead
Philadelphia will host the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night, while Brown returns to Boston on Jan. 21 for the next Sixers‑Celtics matchup, hoping to even the series.
Original reporting: NBC Connecticut — read the source article.
