After a muted reunion with Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum let his game speak the loudest

In the City of Brotherly Love where Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum last played together as teammates in Game 6 of last year’s first round, all eyes were locked in on each player warming up on opposite ends of the floor.

Not a look back, not a glance, just a focus on the basket in front of them.

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Only in the waning moments before the opening tip did we finally see the first interaction between the 9-year teammates. Brown, in the process of his pre-game ritual of spinning the ball on his finger, was approached by Tatum, who gave him a pat on the arm and a sort-of-but-not-really hug from behind. Brown was left unfazed by the gesture.

It was brief, cold, barely an acknowledgment at all, a fitting interaction for the pair whose lack of communication has been a talking point leading up to the primetime event.

The body language was clear. No talk, just check the ball up.

And both competitors maintained that mentality. Nothing spilled outside of the game itself, no words were exchanged that were caught on a hot mic. The focus was on the intensity of the game itself, which even Tatum admitted held an atmosphere that felt different than your usual November contest.

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“I made a joke when I walked out. I couldn’t tell if it was November 10 or June 10. It felt like a f***ing Finals game,” Tatum said.

For Tatum, this November night ended with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting, 4 assists, 6 rebounds, a loud dunk on LeBron, and a 123-101 win. For Brown, it was a shorter than expected appearance due to foul trouble and a dominant Celtics fourth quarter, ending his night in just under 26 minutes with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting with 5 boards and 2 steals.

And for Paul George, who had his own reunion, one where he received the same bitter crowd response as the rest of the Celtics starting five, it was a display of vintage excellence, finishing with 36 points on 64% shooting.

Most notably, the first true head-to-head matchup between the duo formerly known as the Jays favored Jayson, who hounded and stripped Jaylen of the ball 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the game, then got fouled by Brown on the other…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/muted-reunion-jaylen-brown-jayson-120000238.html

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Publish date : 2026-11-11 12:00:00

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