One guy entered Xfinity Mobile Arena with a war-ready mentality. The other came in loose, treating the night like he was just playing another game. The latter player went off and embarrassed the Philadelphia 76ers, as the Boston Celtics steamrolled the top team in the Eastern Conference with a 123-101 victory.
Now, both teams know it's way too early to get too high or too low in early November. But the Sixers just played an East contender for the second time in three games. A matchup that certainly means more than anybody wants to admit, and they got destroyed, courtesy of the guy they traded back in July.
If Paul George wanted revenge, he got it
You would have a hard time finding anybody to say that the Sixers shouldn't have traded Paul George before Tuesday's action, ahead of the Sixers-Celtics clash. And even after witnessing the beatdown, which featured a PG scoring masterclass, nobody should have that take.
The fact of the matter is that George was not able to live up to his standard while playing for the 76ers. He blamed a lack of health as the reason why, but maybe there was more to it. Either way, George moved up the pecking order in Boston and has been back on an All-Star pace. He's giving the Celtics the guy the 76ers initially paid for.
Paul George didn't seem to have revenge on his mind beforehand, but he got it. In 30 minutes of action, George launched a team-high 22 shots from the field, with 11 of his attempts coming from three. George produced a game-high 36 points. He also came down with five rebounds and produced one assist, while turning the ball over just once.
Too much emotion for the moment?
Jaylen Brown was ready for war until it was time to battle. In 25 minutes of action, you forgot he was out there for a large portion of the game. Foul trouble played a part, as he picked up some of his four fouls early, but it was clear that the moment wasn't going to be his.
Brown went 4-for-9 from the field, missing all but one of his four shots from three. He collected four points from the charity stripe to produce 13 points. Brown also grabbed five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block. He finished the game with a -27 plus-minus, the worst for the Sixers by a wide margin.
The ex-Celtics star will have three more games against his former team to bounce back in the series. For the time being, the Celtics have bragging rights in more ways than one. The trade-off looked lopsided in favor of the Celtics in the first meeting, and now Boston leapfrogs Philly for the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference, as the Sixers drop to 9-3.
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