Many had been waiting for this showdown for months. From the moment the regular-season schedule was released, November 10 was marked in red as the date Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown would face off again, a date that grew more and more anticipation as the intricacies of their relationship were revealed. And when the 76ers’ player ignored his former teammate in the pre-tip handshake, everything pointed to a night when sparks would fly.
And so it happened. But not where anyone expected it to.
The Philadelphia crowd learned the hard way that, in pure Jesse Plemons fashion, a strong supporting actor can completely overshadow the main plot. And in this case that actor was Paul George, who turned out to be hungrier for revenge than the stars themselves.
The small forward carried the Celtics on his back as they made a statement at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, where they prevailed 101-123 to become Eastern Conference leaders at the expense of a 76ers team that bore little resemblance to the squad that had radiated such promising signs in the early weeks. No offensive joy, no transition speed, no defensive aggression… nothing. And against Boston, no matter how much things have changed, you still pay for it.
From Three in a Row
Especially if the Mazzulla-coached team have the day from beyond the arc, as was the case. The Celtics from Massachusetts converted 22 of their 49 attempts in a game that shone brilliantly in this department, particularly in a second half in which they hit 13 with a 50% accuracy. And no one contributed more to this than the man returning to his old stomping grounds. A place that didn’t seem to hold much affection for him.
George, who finished with 36 points, logged 14 of them in a row in a fourth quarter marked by prodigious efficiency on his part. He opened with a triple, continued to display his strengths by scoring closer to the basket, and closed with two more outside shots in a four-minute stretch that left the result as good as sealed with a 5-14 run. If the game was hanging by a thread before his onslaught, it was utterly done with it.
Which was a double blow for the home team.
PAUL GEORGE SCORING 14 STRAIGHT IN THE 4Q, UNCUT 🍿
A 36-point return to Philadelphia… @celtics win their 4th in a row and move to #1 in the East! https://t.co/xUg9qxrXCR
— NBA (@NBA) November 11, 2026
Both George’s dominance and the accuracy of the reserves, with Pritchard and Hauser each knocking down four triples, allowed Tatum to enjoy a night that was considerably calmer and removed from the drama that had been anticipated. The forward started the game with a very solid first quarter, but faded to finish with 21 points, as he didn’t need more to secure the victory for his team. And he also didn’t need to win the night’s duel.
Overwhelmed
Even without needing to take the reins of the team, Jayson managed to outshine a Jaylen Brown who, like the rest of the 76ers (except for Maxey), left a rather poor impression. The forward could not exceed 13 points, shot only nine times, and left with a negative impact on both ends of the floor that showed in the -27 with his 25 minutes. But even with those numbers, perhaps he wasn’t the one with the fewest problems.
LeBron James, who went 4-for-12 from the floor, finished with 11 points, and while Joel Embiid topped them both with 16, he did so almost entirely on his 13 trips to the free-throw line and found himself completely outmatched on defense. If the Pennsylvania squad had managed to dispel the doubts that accompanied the season’s start in these early weeks, tonight they chose the worst possible game to resurrect them. Now we just have to see whether they can deliver a compelling response.
