What is the story about?
The high-profile, max contract wing dropped 36 points to lead his new team to a win over his old team, just like everyone expected.
The Sixers were demolished 123-101 by the Boston Celtics thanks to a Paul George masterclass Tuesday night.
In his first game back against his old team, Jaylen Brown didn’t have the night he envisioned, putting up just 13 shooting 4-of-9 from the field, sitting for much of the second half in foul trouble.
Tyrese Maxey was the entire Sixers offense for too much of the night,
leading the team with 24 on 8-of-12 shooting with four assists. Joel Embiid was able to get to the line but still struggled from the floor, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds, and one assist shooting 2-of-9 from the floor.
LeBron James struggled as well, having 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting along with eight rebounds and five assists. George led all scorers with his 36.
The Sixers were once again without Adem Bona (neck) and Dominick Barlow (back).
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- Revenge was had on the first bucket of the game as Paul George was able to drive through Maxey for a midrange pull-up, just like everyone anticipated. He did the same over VJ Edgecombe a couple possessions later, but did foul Embiid to help the Sixers’ score their first points of the game.
- Brown’s first shot against his old team was an open corner three swung to him that didn’t fall. When he got Jayson Tatum matched up on him, the crowd came to a roar, but Tatum won the first round as he was able to force a turnover with the help of a double team. As a team the Sixers had some sloppiness to start the game. Embiid had an ugly turnover trying to throw a behind-the-back pass, and they completely lost Tatum on a backdoor cut for an open layup.
- Maxey got off to a tremendous start, one that the Sixers very much needed as the rest of the starters opened the game 0-of-5 from the floor. His shotmaking from all over the floor prevented the Sixers from going down into a big hole early. Desperate to make something happen, Brown did a good job to steal an outlet pass, but Derrick White was able to slide under and take a charge to discount the basket. He finally made his first field goal of the game driving by Jordan Walsh to slam it home.
- While he didn’t hit a jumper to break the seal, the Sixers offense came alive more with Embiid getting to the line. It’s clear he’s still trying to find that trust in his jumper again, but the way he was getting fouled in the post made him look a bit more like himself. VJ Edgecombe made a brilliant spin move to cut the lead to three.
- That bucket was followed by Embiid’s second turnover of the game, a contested Maxey fadeaway, and Embiid missing two out of three from the free throw line. Maxey tried to hit Dean Wade in the dunker finishing a drive, but Wade wasn’t ready for it and dropped it out of bounds. Anfernee Simons hit a pull-up jumper to end a field goal drought that lasted over four and a half minutes and cut the Sixers’ deficit to seven points after the first.
Second Quarter
- The end of the first and beginning of the second made clear the Sixers were leaning more into staggering Brown and James together, leaving the three incumbent starters together. LeBron was also scoreless in the first and hit a midrange early in the second to get on the board. He also found Simons in the corner from three, but with the Celtics scoring on four of their first five possessions of the quarter the Sixers continued to fall behind.
- Nothing emphasized the Sixers’ struggles to get anything to fall like their struggles around the basket. LeBron smoked his second bunny of the game, then tried to hit Jabari Walker right by the basket, but Walker couldn’t corral it and lost the ball out of bounds. They started the game shooting 44% at the rim, which Cleaning the Glass put in just the third percentile across the league.
- After a rare made basket, the Sixers were too slow getting back and conceded an open three to Sam Hauser before anyone had gotten back. Brown missing a pair of free throws followed by Hauser hitting a very contested three off the dribble made this game feel like it was starting to spiral. Coming out of a timeout, George beat Brown for an offensive rebound and drew a foul as he banked in his putback.
- The combination of this game’s struggles at the rim and the season’s struggles in transition all came to a head on one play. LeBron hit Embiid with a touchdown pass and Embiid took off a little too early and missed the layup, and got his feet tangled up with George as they landed. Edgecombe was able to find the loose ball and slam it back home, but Embiid stayed on the ground for a few moments and hobbled his way through the final 30 seconds of the half. The Sixers trailed by 11 at the break.
Third Quarter
- Despite that scare, Embiid was not only out there to start the second half, but he started it by making his first three-point attempt since the home opener. Maxey was able to get to the line on the Sixers next possession, but the Celtics halted any sort of momentum right there. Tatum hit a contested three over Maxey before Brown picked up his fourth foul of the night.
- LeBron was also desperate for a jumper to fall and it took him two attempts in the third to finally get a three to go down. Edgecombe, who was easily one of the best Sixers on the floor so far, followed that up with a very acrobatic finish over Neemias Queta. Maxey was able to get to the basket on the next possession, cutting the lead to six and prompting a Celtics timeout.
- The Sixers continued to mount momentum coming out of the timeout. Embiid was still able to get to the line and LeBron started getting downhill as well. They did a good job of not letting big Celtics baskets kill their momentum. Tatum got LeBron pretty good with a dunk and George buried another three, but the Sixers kept eating into the lead.
- Wade was putting in a great night for the Sixers, and it helped that he got some threes up and buried a couple, one of which briefly tied the game up. Maxey hit a ridiculous three to keep it tied for a second, but Boston had another onslaught of their own to go back in front. One hit off the top of the backboard, but it also didn’t help that the Sixers kept leaving Hauser and Tatum wide open on the perimeter. Wade had an open three rim out to keep the Celtics up by nine.
Fourth Quarter
- The Celtics drilled three more triples before the Sixers got on the board to start the quarter, prompting a timeout from Nick Nurse. The full starting five checked back into the game much earlier than normal in one last attempt to salvage the night. The first basket coming out of that timeout was George posting up Maxey, hitting his pull-up while getting fouled in the process.
- George scooted past the entire Sixers defense for a layup on the following possession. Maxey appeared to have earned a trip to the line for the Sixers first points of the quarter, but Joe Mazzulla challenged the play and got it overturned. The Sixers didn’t score their first points of the fourth until the 7:37 mark when a Brown three bounced in. The Sixers waived the white flag after a couple more minutes of George burying threes on them.
