Recap: Sixers fall to Paul George and rival Celtics 123-101

Sixers blog Live Blog Ended Nov 11, 2026 Recap: Sixers fall to Paul George and rival Celtics 123-101 The Sixers fall to the Celtics and are now 9-3 on the season. Here's a full recap. By Eva Cheeseman • Published November 10, 2026 • Updated 3 hours ago What to Know The Celtics (9-2) pulled away with a 123-101 win and now lead the East. The Sixers fell to 9-3 on the season. Former Sixer Paul George took center stage in South Philly leading all scorers with 36 points in 30 minutes. Jaylen Brown got into foul trouble early, picking up two in the first quarter then two more in the third. He finished with 13 points and four turnovers. The Sixers only led the game once, by one point in the first quarter. Next up: the Sixers host the Toronto Raptors on Thursday at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Celtics rout 76ers in first matchup between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown Round 1 of the new-look Sixers vs. the new-look Celtics decisively went Boston’s way on Tuesday night. In the first meeting between the teams since the July trade that sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia and Paul George to Boston , the Celtics earned a 123-101 win at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Sixers dropped to 9-3 and the Celtics improved to 9-2. George was the game's brightest star, scoring 36 points on 14-for-22 shooting. Jayson Tatum added 21 points. Tyrese Maxey’s 24 points led the Sixers. Brown was hampered by foul trouble in his heavily anticipated first outing against Tatum . He posted 13 points, five rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes. The Sixers will host the Raptors on Thursday night. Here are observations on their blowout loss to the Celtics: Brown vs. Tatum takes center stage To no one’s surprise,  Brown and Tatum guarded each other to open the night. VJ Edgecombe defended a former teammate in George , who scored Boston’s first four points with a pair of pure jumpers. On the other end, Maxey made the Sixers’ first three field goals. Judging by volume, the home fans cared most about the much-scrutinized Brown vs. Tatum matchup. The crowd was excited early when Brown snagged a steal and then dished to Maxey for a fast-break three-pointer. The fans also dialed up the noise when Brown sized up Tatum in isolation. He wound up dribbling the ball off his foot and out of bounds. Tatum pointed to signal it was Celtics ball. Boston’s star forward had a productive first quarter, posting 11 points. He scored an easy two when he used a back screen to break free from Brown and convert a layup that put the Celtics up 11-7. Boston began 9 for 12 from the floor as a team. As for Brown, he sat shortly after being called for his second foul with 6:48 left in the first quarter. Rough going for Sixers from long distance Brown re-entered at the start of the second quarter. The Sixers still struggled to eat into Boston’s lead. A Sam Hauser triple extended the Celtics’ advantage to 12 points. There was some audible frustration in the building after Brown missed two free throws on the next possesion. The Sixers’ deficit hit 16 points on a Hugo Gonzalez jumper. Meanwhile, the Sixers missed 12 of their first 14 three-point tries. While some of those shots were open looks that simply didn’t go down, the Sixers also rushed up several contested jumpers before they made Boston’s defense do serious work. In the bigger picture, it wouldn’t be remotely surprising if shooting stands out as a weak area for the Sixers come the trade deadline. They entered the game ranked 27th in the NBA in three-point frequency outside of garbage time and 22nd in three-point accuracy, according to Cleaning the Glass. George and Tatum lead the way Joel Embiid (16 points, six rebounds) had an injury scare late in the second quarter when he fell hard after missing a layup in transition. He rose gingerly and limped through the final 30 seconds or so of the first half. The Sixers’ star big man was fine to start the third quarter and even drained a long-overdue three on the opening possession. He’d been in a terrible outside shooting slump (3 for 32 from deep on the season) before that shot. Brown’s foul trouble persisted. He picked up his fourth personal with 10:40 to go in the third quarter. The Sixers stormed back without him and their defense played a large role. After LeBron James rumbled in for a layup, Dean Wade stonewalled Payton Pritchard on the perimeter to force a shot-clock violation. Wade later canned a three to even the contest at 76-all. The Celtics responded and Tatum led the charge. His third-quarter exploits included a highlight slam on James and a top-of-the-key three to build Boston’s lead back up to nine points. Pritchard buried a three on the first possession of the fourth quarter and the Celtics' advantage kept growing. George celebrated a triple that stretched his team's lead to 100-82. The Sixers' spirits were considerably lower as they headed to their bench for a timeout. As a Sixer, George only had one higher-scoring game (39 points) than his performance Tuesday. George and Tatum were each excellent in Philadelphia. Outside of Maxey, who finished 8 for 12 from the field, the Sixers didn't receive similar games from their stars. Brown will be back in Boston on Jan. 21 when the Sixers visit the Celtics. He'll try to even the score. Paul George gestures toward Philly fan after unfortunate interaction View this post on Instagram View this post on Instagram Watch Postgame Live J.B. not pleased with performance View this post on Instagram Jaylen Brown credits former teammate This article tagged under: Sixers blog