On a night when all eyes were on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Paul George stole the spotlight with 36 points — including six three-pointers — to lead the Boston Celtics to a comfortable 123-101 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
George also seemed to thrive as a villain in his return to Philadelphia, punctuated by a viral fourth-quarter moment. After hitting a three to push the Celtics’ lead to 100–82 at the 9:51 mark, he cheekily “bowled” a middle finger toward a fan in the crowd.
After the game, George explained his animated reaction.
“There was a fan being an a–hole,” George said, via ESPN.
“Ball rolled to him, he looked me dead in my eyes, dropped the ball on the ground as if like I’m a dog to go fetch or go get it. Instead of passing the ball to me like a normal fan would do, and so yeah, so then I rolled him a middle finger in return.”
Paul George Makes Huge Leap
Through his first 10 games as a Celtic, George has averaged 22.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.1 steals on excellent 49/44/82 shooting splits. That’s a huge jump from his last season with the Sixers, when he averaged 17.3 points on 43% shooting.
George credited the Celtics coaching staff for allowing him to play his game.
“I’m a little bit better with more usage, and that’s no knock to how my opportunities here with Philly, you know, quite frankly I wasn’t healthy to take on the workload that I feel I’m at my best at,” George told the NBC telecast after Boston’s win.
“But here in Boston they gave me an opportunity to come out here and play and be myself,” he added.
Some analysts, including Kevin O’Connor, suggest that George’s elite long-range shooting makes him a better fit alongside Jayson Tatum than Jaylen Brown.
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“Paul George is a better fit next to Jayson Tatum than Jaylen Brown ever was. I know, it’s soon,” O’Connor said on his podcast, via ClutchPoints.
“I know Tatum and Brown won a finals together. But I feel the synergy between these two guys early this season, with Paul George averaging 20 on elite efficiency, elite three-point volume, the connective passing from him as well, and the ability to be an initiator,” he added.
“It just feels like these two guys, they just gel. It feels natural to me. So even if George isn’t as great in a vacuum as Jaylen Brown is, I feel like this is a better fit. These guys actually fit.”
The Celtics improved to 9-2 and clinched the No. 1 seed in the East with Monday’s win. They next face the Raptors (5-5) in the second night of a back-to-back on Tuesday.
Celtics’ Paul George Sounds off on ‘A**hole’ Sixers Fan After Viral Moment