Celtics roll past the 76ers 123-101 as Paul George pours in 36 in Philly return

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 21 points and outplayed former Boston teammate Jaylen Brown, and Paul George hit six 3-pointers and scored 36 points in his return to Philadelphia, leading the Celtics past the 76ers 123-101 on Tuesday night. Brown ran into early foul trouble and scored only 13 points in his first game against Boston since the 2024 NBA Finals MVP was traded over the summer to the Sixers. His head-to-head showdown with Tatum was one of the more anticipated early-season matchups with both players refusing to say much about their frosty relationship . Tatum tried to dap up Brown before the opening tip with a tap on the shoulder and thump on the chest that his former teammate ignored. Tatum shook hands and exchanged a big hug with LeBron James. Brown picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter and was whistled for his fourth early in the second half. George, traded for Brown after two seasons with the 76ers, enjoyed the homecoming. He appeared to give the finger in a bowling motion near the visitor’s bench after he sank his fourth 3 of the game for a 100-82 lead that pushed the Celtics to their ninth win in 10 games. The Sixers survived a scare late in the second half when Joel Embiid landed awkwardly and hit the court on a missed layup attempt. The oft-injured big man curled up on the court while VJ Edgecombe dunked over him. KNICKS 117, BUCKS 85 NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 23 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and New York beat Milwaukee for its fourth straight victory. OG Anunoby made five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points for the Knicks, who have won six of seven since an 0-3 start. They outscored the Bucks 32-13 in the second quarter to blow open the game and then put it away in the fourth after Milwaukee had gotten back into it. The Knicks got big efforts from their bench, with no starter playing more than 28 minutes on the front end of back-to-back games. Tyler Kolek scored 12 points and provided a spark in the second quarter as the backup to Brunson, Andre Drummond grabbed 14 rebounds in 15 minutes, and Deuce McBride had eight points and New York outscored Milwaukee by 39 while he was on the floor. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 16 points and Ryan Rollins had 14 for the Bucks, who lost their seventh straight and fell to 1-10. They played without leading scorer Tyler Herro, who missed his first game of the season because of a bruised right knee. SUNS 133, CLIPPERS 110 PHOENIX (AP) — Jordan Goodwin scored 18 points in his return from a calf injury, Devin Booker added 17 and Phoenix cruised past Los Angeles. Phoenix shot 22 of 43 (51%) from 3-point range and had seven players score in double digits, including five who came off the bench. Luke Kennard had 14 points, Jalen Green scored 13 and Collin Gillespie added 12 points and eight assists while Khaman Maluach contributed 11 points and seven rebounds. The Suns had a 17-point halftime lead and pushed the advantage to 91-59 with four minutes left in the third quarter. They have a 3-2 record so far on their season-long, seven-game homestand. Goodwin — who signed a $19 million, three-year deal to return to the Suns during the offseason — made 6 of 7 shots from beyond the arc in just 14 minutes. He missed the past three games. The Clippers were coming off their first win in more than two weeks, but have now lost eight of their last nine games. Rui Hachimura, Baba Miller and Darius Garland all scored 13 points while Max Strus had 12.