Celtics at 76ers: Jaylen Brown faces Boston for the first time since the trade

The summer's biggest NBA trade reaches the court on Tuesday. On July 1, Boston sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George and four draft picks — two firsts and two seconds — in a deal that became official on July 6. Brown spent 10 seasons with the Celtics, made five All-Star teams and was named Finals MVP in 2024. He meets his former team as the second-leading scorer on a 76ers side that tops the Eastern Conference at 9-2, half a game ahead of Boston (8-2).

• Competition: NBA 2026-27 regular season.
• Game: Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers (NBA game ID 0022600212).
• Tip-off: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 8 p.m. ET; Wednesday, Nov. 11, 01:00 GMT.
• Venue: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia wins with four scorers

Tyrese Maxey drives Nick Nurse's offense, averaging 26.9 points and 5.5 assists through 11 games, according to the season's box scores; he scored 38 in Charlotte and 32 against Cleveland. Brown is averaging 22.3 points and 6.7 rebounds and had 30 in the Nov. 4 win in Detroit. Joel Embiid adds 17.9 points and 9.7 rebounds in nine games, although he has made only 3 of 30 three-point attempts, while LeBron James is averaging 6.7 assists to go with 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds. VJ Edgecombe rounds out the starting five at 13.2 points, and Anfernee Simons is the bench's outside threat, 24 of 62 from deep.

The 76ers had won five straight before Friday's 119-95 loss in Cleveland, their heaviest defeat of the season, and bounced back with a 127-121 win in Chicago on Sunday in which all five starters scored in double figures: Brown had 29 points, Maxey 27 and James 22, and Embiid posted 18 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes, four more than he played in Cleveland. Embiid has missed two games this season; James has also missed two.

Tatum back at the center of Boston's attack

Jayson Tatum is averaging 27.1 points, 7.8 assists and 6.0 rebounds in nine games and has made 75 of 84 free throws. He scored 40 against Brooklyn and posted 34 points and nine assists in Friday's 119-80 win in Charlotte. Paul George, in his first season with the Celtics, is averaging 20.4 points and 2.3 steals; he opened the season with 38 in Detroit and scored 27 in Milwaukee on Sunday. Derrick White (12.9 points, 5.3 assists) and Payton Pritchard, who gives Joe Mazzulla 12.8 points off the bench, complete the backcourt.

After losing the opener, Boston has won eight of its next nine, most recently 117-97 in Milwaukee on Sunday. The Celtics score 115.0 points and allow 104.3 per game, better marks at both ends than Philadelphia's 111.0 and 107.9. Inside, Mazzulla splits the minutes between Neemias Queta (9.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks) and Mitchell Robinson.

Both teams won on Sunday and have Monday off. The Celtics visit Toronto on Wednesday, the night after the game in Philadelphia.

Injury report

The NBA's first official report for this game, issued Monday, Nov. 9, at 5 p.m. ET, lists the following; teams can update their designations until tip-off:

Philadelphia 76ers

• Adem Bona: out — cervical spine sprain.
• Dominick Barlow: out — low back stress reaction.
• Ariel Hukporti: out — right Achilles tendon rupture.
• Joel Embiid: not listed. Before Sunday's game in Chicago he was listed first as probable and then as available, with right foot plantar fascia injury management.

Boston Celtics

• Chris Cenac Jr.: questionable — G League assignment.
• Dillon Mitchell: questionable — G League, two-way contract.
• Devin Carter: out — G League, two-way contract.
• Amari Williams: out — G League, two-way contract.
• Mitchell Robinson, listed as available with an illness on Sunday, does not appear on the report.

Bona had appeared in nine of the 11 games as part of the frontcourt rotation, so his absence thins Philadelphia's options at center against Queta and Robinson.

Where the game will be decided

Brown and George, head to head. The trade puts two wings who swapped locker rooms on the same floor. George leads Boston in steals per game; if Mazzulla assigns him to Brown, that matchup would also shape how much George has left at the other end.

The paint with Embiid. Philadelphia relies on Embiid to score near the rim and control the glass, but he has played 29 minutes or fewer in three of his last four games, and his natural backup is out. If Boston can stretch possessions and force the 76ers to play stretches without him, the size of Queta and Robinson would carry more weight.

Tatum against a switching defense. With Edgecombe, Brown and James, Nurse has big defenders to rotate onto Tatum. The 84 free throws Boston's star has attempted in nine games show the risk: every foul on his drives gives him points without needing to make a shot.

Last season's series finished 2-2, and three of the four games were decided by one or two points.

How to watch Celtics at 76ers

• Venue: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia.
• Date and time: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 8 p.m. ET; Wednesday, Nov. 11, 01:00 GMT.

United States — Tuesday, Nov. 10, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

• TV: NBC nationally, according to the NBA's official schedule. The league also lists NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBC Sports Boston in each team's local market.
• Streaming: Peacock.

United Kingdom — Wednesday, Nov. 11, 01:00 GMT

• TV and streaming: Sky Sports+ from 00:30 GMT; the game is also listed on Sky Sports Main Event from 03:00 GMT.
• Also available: NBA League Pass.

Australia — Wednesday, Nov. 11, 12 p.m. AEDT (Sydney, Melbourne) / 11 a.m. AEST (Brisbane) / 9 a.m. AWST (Perth)

• Streaming: NBA League Pass.
• TV: broadcast not yet announced.

Tuesday will show whether Brown can make Boston pay for letting him go, or whether Tatum and George take first place in the East away from Philadelphia.