Jaylen Brown Explains Snubbing Jayson Tatum as Paul George Scores 36 to Lift Celtics Past 76ers in Grudge Game

PHILADELPHIA — Jaylen Brown said he was simply focused on the game when he appeared to ignore former teammate Jayson Tatum before tipoff. Brown's first game against the Boston Celtics since being traded turned into a lopsided loss for his Philadelphia 76ers.

Paul George, who went to Boston in the deal that sent Brown to Philadelphia, scored a game-high 36 points against his former team. The Celtics routed the 76ers 123-101 on Tuesday night.

The pregame moment quickly went viral. Television cameras caught Tatum approaching Brown near midcourt and patting him on the arm and chest. Brown, who was handling a basketball, did not visibly respond.

Asked about it afterward, Brown said he was "just focused on coming out and doing what's best for my team" and "wasn't paying attention" to everything else around him.

Brown also praised his former teammate. "Credit to Jayson, he played well tonight," he said.

Tatum said the atmosphere at Xfinity Mobile Arena "felt like a f--king Finals game." He insisted the night was not about him against Brown.

Brown and Tatum played together in Boston for nine seasons and won the 2024 NBA championship. The Celtics surprised many by trading Brown to Philadelphia in the offseason for George and draft picks.

The trade fueled speculation about tension between the two stars and whether Tatum played a role in Brown's departure. Last month, Brown responded with a "cap" emoji to a video of Tatum saying he was as surprised as everyone else by the trade. Brown has also said Tatum has a "hell of a PR team."

On the court, Boston dominated. George went 14 of 22 from the field, including six 3-pointers, in a strong performance against his former club. Tatum had 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. His highlight of the night was a third-quarter dunk over LeBron James.

Payton Pritchard added 18 points, and Sam Hauser scored 12. The Celtics made 22 of 49 3-pointers, or 44.9%. Boston led 62-51 at halftime and built a lead as large as 29 points.

Brown struggled with foul trouble. He picked up three fouls before halftime and a fourth early in the third quarter, finishing with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and four turnovers.

"I'm a bit frustrated, honestly," Brown said, adding that the foul trouble "derailed me a little bit."

He gave the Celtics full credit. "They executed, and they shot the hell out of the ball, and they were the better team tonight," Brown said.

The win was Boston's fourth straight and lifted the Celtics to 9-2. That moved them ahead of the 9-3 76ers for first place in the Eastern Conference.

MassLive noted that George's breakout performance creates an intriguing question for Boston about how to balance his scoring with Tatum's role.

The teams meet again on Jan. 21, when Brown will make his highly anticipated return to Boston.