Paul George Drops 36 in Philly Return as Celtics Rout 76ers 123-101

The whole night was billed as Jayson Tatum vs. Jaylen Brown. Paul George made it his own. In his first game back in Philadelphia since the summer trade that sent him to Boston and Brown to the 76ers, George scored a game-high 36 points and the Celtics ran away with a 123-101 win Tuesday night.

George shot 14 of 22 from the field and 6 of 11 from 3-point range, The Associated Press reported. Boston (9-2) won its fourth straight and moved past Philadelphia into first place in the Eastern Conference.

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! pic.twitter.com/xUg9qxrXCR

— NBA (@NBA) November 11, 2026

How Paul George broke the game open

For three quarters this was a fight. Philadelphia came out of halftime with a push and cut the gap to single digits. Then Tatum sat to start the fourth, and George took the game over.

Boston went on a 14-0 run in 4:06 to open the quarter and turned a nine-point lead into a 23-point cushion, WEEI noted. The Sixers never got it back under 20. The NBA’s official account credited George with 14 straight Boston points in the fourth.

He did it in 30 minutes. According to WEEI, the 36 points were the most George has scored in any of his 40 career games in that building, which he called home for two seasons. He’s now averaging 22.0 points a game in his first 10 games as a Celtic, on 44% shooting from deep.

Asked if he played with extra motivation, George pointed to Tatum instead: “My job is to come in and support JT.”

A rough first night against Boston for Jaylen Brown

Brown’s homecoming in reverse went sideways early. He picked up two fouls in the first quarter and his fourth early in the third, and he played only 9:46 of the second half. He finished with a season-low 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting, five rebounds and four turnovers. His minus-27 was the worst mark of anyone in the game.

The tension started before tipoff. Tatum tried to greet Brown with a tap on the shoulder, and Brown didn’t respond, per the AP. Tatum finished with 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

For Philadelphia, Tyrese Maxey scored 24, Joel Embiid had 16 and LeBron James added 11, DAZN reported. The Sixers also had a scare in the second half when Embiid landed hard on a missed layup. Watch Philadelphia’s injury report before Thursday.

The numbers behind the blowout

The free throw gap is the strangest line in the box score. Philadelphia got to the line 28 times to Boston’s five and still lost by 22, because the Celtics made 15 more field goals, per the Celtics’ official recap, and hit 22 threes, per Sky Sports. Boston scored at least 29 points in every quarter. It was Philadelphia’s most lopsided home loss of the season.

🏀 TUESDAY’S FINAL SCORES 🏀

Paul George drops 36 PTS (14-22 FGM) in his return to Philly as the @celtics win their 4th straight and move to #1 in the East!

Jayson Tatum: 21 PTS, 6 REB, 2 BLK, 3 3PM
Payton Pritchard: 18 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 4 3PM https://t.co/cCMaEN5ZAM pic.twitter.com/sDzWIs8aU9

— NBA (@NBA) November 11, 2026

Why the Paul George trade looks different now

Brown was the bigger name in the deal, a former Finals MVP, while George was 36 and coming off two seasons in Philadelphia. Eleven games in, the Celtics sit on top of the East, and George has been the steady second option Boston needed next to Tatum. He also brings defense: WEEI has him at 2.8 steals per game.

It’s one game in November, and these teams meet three more times this season. The Sixers were 9-2 and first in the East coming in, and they’re only a half game back. But Tuesday was the first real look at both sides of the deal, and George won it going away.

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Boston is right back at it Wednesday night in Toronto (5-5) at 7 p.m. ET. Philadelphia hosts the Raptors on Thursday, then sees Indiana on Sunday.