Kris RhimNov 10, 2026, 08:28 PM ETCloseKris Rhim is an NBA reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers, returning to his hometown to chronicle LeBron James’ final chapter. Kris joined ESPN in 2023 and spent three seasons covering the Los Angeles Chargers before moving to the NBA.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsPHILADELPHIA — Almost all the fans in Xfinity Mobile Arena rose to their feet when Jaylen Brown got the ball on one wing and matched up with Jayson Tatum early in the first quarter of Tuesday night’s Celtics-Sixers game.This is what everyone had come to see.Brown took two dribbles, tried a spin move, stumbled and lost the ball out of bounds. He fouled Tatum seconds later on the next possession while still arguing with an official about what he believed was a missed call on the previous play.That sequence was a microcosm of a porous night for Brown, who, after weeks of back-and-forth with Tatum — including a proclamation from Brown that there was no beef but “a little lamb chops and some gravy” — had one of his worst games of this season as the Celtics blew out the Sixers 123-101.”I was looking forward to this,” Brown said. “I was looking forward to playing well, but s— happens.
Get ready for the next one, I guess.”Brown said days before the game that he didn’t plan to speak to Tatum, with whom he had spent nine years as a teammate in Boston, winning a title together in 2024.”Nothing to talk about,” said Brown, who was traded this offseason. Moments before tipoff, Tatum didn’t seem to get that message or believe it.As Brown spun a basketball at midcourt, Tatum headed in his direction for a dap, eventually tapping Brown’s chest, but Brown acted as if Tatum didn’t exist. So Tatum moved on, shaking hands with Sixers forward LeBron James next to Brown.When asked about that moment later, Brown sidestepped the question.”I’m just focused on doing what’s best for my team,” Brown said. “Everything else was just, to be honest, I wasn’t paying attention, but credit to Jayson; he played well tonight.”Tatum also sidestepped the hype concerning their first post-trade matchup.”No headlines about anything like that,” he said.
“I was just getting ready for the game, ready for jump ball, go out there, compete, have some fun and try to get a win.”Coming into this game, Brown was having perhaps his best stretch of the season. He scored a season-high 30 points in a win against Detroit and then 29 points in Sunday’s win over the Bulls. It seemed that Brown was getting into a rhythm with this team, but it didn’t look that way Tuesday.Brown finished with 13 points, five rebounds, four turnovers and a game-worst minus-27.”He had a tough night,” coach Nick Nurse said.It was an uncharacteristically foul-laden game for Brown, too. After the initial foul on Tatum, he picked up a charging foul when running over Derrick White, which he begged the Sixers sideline to challenge to no avail.
He landed on the bench with just over five minutes remaining in foul trouble; it was his first game with multiple first-quarter fouls this season. He had not had more than two fouls in a first half with Philadelphia. He finished the game with four fouls, which he hit by the 10:40 mark in the third quarter after a reaching call.”I’m a bit frustrated, honestly,” Brown said.On the surface, it appeared that the emotions of this matchup had gotten to Brown, but he attempted to shut that idea down postgame.”I didn’t have any emotion. I was locked in.
I was focused, I was ready to go,” Brown said. “Foul trouble kind of took me out of my rhythm a little bit. I had to sit for a while, and we didn’t execute as well as they did.”
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