In the City of Brotherly Love where Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum last played together as teammates in Game 6 of last year’s first round, all eyes were locked in on each player warming up on opposite ends of the floor.
Not a look back, not a glance, just a focus on the basket in front of them.
Only in the waning moments before the opening tip did we finally see the first interaction between the 9-year teammates. Brown, in the process of his pre-game ritual of spinning the ball on his finger, was approached by Tatum, who gave him a pat on the arm and a sort-of-but-not-really hug from behind. Brown was left unfazed by the gesture.
It was brief, cold, barely an acknowledgment at all, a fitting interaction for the pair whose lack of communication has been a talking point leading up to the primetime event.
The body language was clear. No talk, just check the ball up.
And both competitors maintained that mentality. Nothing spilled outside of the game itself, no words were exchanged that were caught on a hot mic. The focus was on the intensity of the game itself, which even Tatum admitted held an atmosphere that felt different than your usual November contest.
“I made a joke when I walked out. I couldn’t tell if it was November 10 or June 10. It felt like a f***ing Finals game,” Tatum said.
For Tatum, this November night ended with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting, 4 assists, 6 rebounds, a loud dunk on LeBron, and a 123-101 win. For Brown, it was a shorter than expected appearance due to foul trouble and a dominant Celtics fourth quarter, ending his night in just under 26 minutes with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting with 5 boards and 2 steals.
And for Paul George, who had his own reunion, one where he received the same bitter crowd response as the rest of the Celtics starting five, it was a display of vintage excellence, finishing with 36 points on 64% shooting.
Most notably, the first true head-to-head matchup between the duo formerly known as the Jays favored Jayson, who hounded and stripped Jaylen of the ball 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the game, then got fouled by Brown on the other end.
It was an early sign of an arduous night on Brown’s new home floor.
“I’m a bit frustrated, honestly,” Brown said. “I wanted to perform better for my team. Foul trouble kind of derailed me a little bit, but you know, it happens.”
A minute later, Tatum shook past Brown with a baseline cut, finishing on an easy layup as part of an 11-point opening quarter.
It became less and less about highlighting every interaction between the two, and more about how Tatum steadied the ship with a smooth-operating offense. Joe Mazzulla credited Tatum for the maturity he showed in his preparation and execution in the highly-anticipated matchup.
“He doesn’t get enough credit for his emotional stability, his emotional intelligence, and his maturity,” Mazzulla said. “He just has an ability to stay focused on the things that he can control, and the things that matter most. And I think it’s unfair to him because sometimes his quietness comes off as if he’s aloof, doesn’t pay attention, doesn’t care, but it’s the opposite.
“It’s so easy for him to handle stuff like this because it’s just who he is.”
And when Tatum was off the court, the Celtics crushed the Sixers, outscoring them 41-25 with a strong night from the bench unit, led by Payton Pritchard’s 18-point effort.
A night of quiet command then ended with bang, when Tatum traveled back in time to his 20-year-old self, once again detonating a furious, downright hurtful dunk on LeBron James.
In the strangest and most unpredictable way, this wasn’t quite the night where Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum ignited the spark to this storied rivalry’s next great chapter. It was certainly a big partof it, the part we all wanted and needed to see after a long and strenuous offseason filled with debate and post-trade fallout.
But with the dust settled, it became a night that reminded us once again that Paul George, at 36 years old, can still score at an elite level. It became a night where Boston’s strength in numbers overmatched Philly’s abundance of star power.
It’s those things that Tatum believes should be at the forefront of their 22-point win.
“It’s not about that,” Tatum said when asked about his relationship with Jaylen. “Tonight was a good team win. PG was incredible. That’s all that there is really to talk about.”
On Tuesday night, Tatum slowly and methodically sucked the life out of Xfinity Mobile Arena, as he pieced together a balanced, efficient night while playing against both his former right-hand man, and one of the franchise’s greatest individual rivals.
It’s a performance we’ll remember as a statement, one made not with a whisper, but a loud, chest-pounding dunk over an aging monarch.
