Жэйлен Браун Жэйсон Тэйтумыг үл тоомсорлож, Бостон Сэлтиксийн эсрэг сэтгэл дундуур тоглолт үзүүллээ

PHILADELPHIA — The final blow to the 76ers’ chest — and their ego — came with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, as Paul George held his follow-through in front of his former bench and Jayson Tatum stretched his wings toward his teammate in celebration.

In stark contrast, Jaylen Brown’s confusion over a busted coverage was plastered all over his face as he and the veteran, star-studded bunch shuffled back to their seats before the white flag was raised. What should have been a hotly contested duel had flamed out rather quickly, with hundreds of fans heading for the exits and a blowout in full effect.

“I’m a bit frustrated, honestly,” Brown said following the 123-101 defeat. “I wanted to perform better for my team. Foul trouble kind of derailed me a little bit, but it happens. It’s unfortunate but you gotta just move on to the next.”

For weeks, the sheer build-up to Tuesday night essentially guaranteed an emotional apex. Cryptic messages, subtle shots and narratives built on both sides of the Tatum-Brown divide dominated headlines, airwaves and basketball discourse. Something was bound to give.

But even in that, Brown’s emotions quite possibly got the best of him. Seconds before tipoff, after the tidal wave of boos, tension and apprehension had consumed the building, Brown had a golden opportunity to bury the hatchet as Tatum approached him near midcourt. An embrace, nod or handshake — something to acknowledge the near-decade relationship between the two — was set up perfectly. Instead, Brown chose in that moment to ignore Tatum as he tapped his arm and chest twice.

It didn’t end there. Brown used every opportunity he had to latch onto Tatum like an All-Pro cornerback, at times not even recognizing the ongoing action around him. When he received the ball, he put his head down and charged at opposing defenders recklessly, unable to generate rhythm — and the rampant roars from the Philly faithful only compounded Brown’s downhill desperation and aggression. (Brown recorded his second-highest first-quarter usage rate this season, paired poorly with a 28.6 turnover rate.) A failure to find an offensive groove carried over to the other side of the ball, with Brown giving away cheap fouls, forcing him to sit and ultimately limiting him to just 25 minutes. His final tally told the story better than anything else could: 13 points, four turnovers and a game-worst minus-27.

“I’m just focused on coming out and doing what’s best for my team,” Brown said. “Everything else was, to be honest, I wasn’t paying attention. But credit to Jayson, he played well tonight. Credit to the Celtics, they executed and shot the hell out of the ball. They were the better team tonight.”

To add insult to injury, it was Tatum and George who looked like they had played for 9 years together instead of the three weeks. Boston has found a way to harmonize the pair’s similar skill sets, as both combine usage (100th and 91st percentiles, respectively) with creation chops (98th and 87th percentiles). One of George’s underrepresented qualities is his ability to assimilate within different ecosystems while not detracting from the order of operations. The Celtics have outscored opponents by 33 points in the 162 minutes both have shared the floor, a promising early sign for the league’s No. 2 team in net rating. Both George and Tatum can play off the other, whether it’s darting around screens and relocating, spacing the floor or drawing defenses to one side of the floor. The pair accounted for 18 of Boston’s 49 attempted 3s, a hand-in-glove fit for Mazzulla ball — in addition to 56 points, 9 treys, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, feasting upon their prey. Beef. Lamb chops. Gravy.

For Brown, the conversation will continue surrounding how the former Finals MVP truly fits within the 76ers’ structure. And it’s not just that he’s converting shots and handling the ball at rates not seen in over seven years, it’s that his entire offensive makeup has changed drastically. Last season — the campaign Brown notoriously proclaimed as his favorite of his career — he operated as a lead ball-handler nearly 25 percent of the time on the floor, per Synergy tracking data. That volume has plummeted to just seven percent, with the bulk of his opportunities coming via spot-ups or in transition. Brown is certainly not as fluid or creative a playmaker as his former teammate Tatum or even George, but the sudden removal of opportunities certainly comes with its own trickle-down effects.

“He had a tough night,” 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said. “They did a pretty good job of swarming him and sending multiple defenders.”

The larger theme, one that will permeate this game, a rematch in Boston (which will be even more emotional for Brown) and beyond, is the fact that the 76ers’ presumed path to playing in May and June also includes the Celtics. Both sit atop the Eastern Conference, having won nine games apiece, with some underlying separation already building on the coast. (Detroit and New York will certainly have something to say about how the final standings shake out; early November is a far cry from finality, but I’m more confident in seeing the demarcation between them and the likes of Toronto, Miami and Atlanta.)

It’s why nights like these are important. They offer a window into the psyche of the world’s most talented athletes, invoke emotional and mental challenges and push conversations forward. Brown will have more opportunities to even the score against his old coworker, but until he fully settles into his new surroundings, frustrated outings like this won’t be outliers.