Sixers Celtics Paul George

Sixers get blown out by Paul George and a Celtics team that hit 22 threes

The Sixers got run out of their own building Tuesday night by Paul George and a Celtics team that forgot how to miss. Final score: 123-101. Boston led by as many as 29.

Everybody spent the week talking about Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. George spent the night ending that conversation.

Paul George screwed the Sixers, then flipped off the crowd

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George dropped 36 on his old team. He shot 14 for 22, hit six of his 11 threes, and scored 14 straight Boston points in the fourth quarter. Payton Pritchard opened the period with back-to-back threes, George followed with eight in a row, and a game that was tied at 79 in the third turned into a funeral.

This is the same guy who shot 55 percent from three in the series that knocked Boston out last spring. He spent two seasons with the Sixers getting hurt, gave this city one memorable playoff run, then picked the night he was wearing the other jersey to look like a superstar.

Tyrese Maxey said he loves Paul and his family. Then he said, “I wanted him to score zero points.” Same, Tyrese. He also admitted the Sixers had no business letting George get up 11 threes. He’s right.

Late in the game, George was caught giving a baseline fan the middle finger. His explanation afterward: the ball rolled to the guy during a stoppage, the guy looked him dead in the eye, and dropped it on the floor like George was a dog he wanted to fetch.

Sixers fans booed him. He answered with 36 points and one finger.

Jaylen Brown ignored Tatum and lost the matchup

At tipoff, Tatum reached out to greet Brown and Brown appeared to ignore him. Afterward Brown said he wasn’t paying attention. Sure.

His first real attempt to go at Tatum ended with him dribbling the ball off his own foot and out of bounds. Tatum scored 11 in the first quarter. Nick Nurse moved Dean Wade onto Tatum, easily the best defensive decision the Sixers made all night.

Brown finished with 13 points, a game-high four turnovers, a minus-27, and four fouls by the 8:39 mark of the third. Tatum finished with 21. Months of public comments, documentaries and takes. One night, 13 points and a pile of turnovers.

To his credit, Brown owned it. He said Boston “shot the hell out of the ball” and were the better team. Hard to argue.

Embiid and LeBron weren’t any help. Embiid went 2 of 9 for 16, never made a field goal in the first half, and rolled his ankle late in the second quarter. LeBron James went 4 of 12 for 11. Maxey was the lone Sixers star who showed up, with 24.

The Celtics hit 22 threes and the Sixers couldn’t answer

Boston made 22 of 49 from three, 44.9 percent. Pritchard and Sam Hauser each hit four. After Maxey tied it at 79 with 3:19 left in the third, the Celtics outscored the Sixers 44-22 the rest of the way. They went more than nine minutes without a two-point field goal in the second half and still pulled away, because they made nine threes in a row. That is the second-longest streak by a Sixers opponent in 30 seasons.

The Sixers made 11 threes on 37 attempts. Boston scored 66 points from behind the arc and Philadelphia scored 33. That’s the game.

The Sixers’ defense over-rotated and gave Boston open looks all over the floor. On a night like this, those are layups.

One November loss doesn’t change anything for the Sixers

Yes, that sounds like a cop-out. It’s also true.

It’s Nov. 11. The Sixers are 9-3 and Boston is 9-2. This was the first of four meetings, and the Sixers beat these same Celtics from a 3-1 hole last spring. You are not beating a Boston team that shoots like this. Nobody is. And that formula has never held up for them over a full season, because nights where every look drops don’t repeat.

Circle Jan. 21 in Boston. Tuesday was just a bad night with a lot of open threes.

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