In the battle of Jayson Tatum vs. Jaylen Brown, Paul George was the real winner

When the Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, the basketball world was shocked. But when it was Paul George coming back the other way, the response was utter bewilderment.

What in the world could possibly compel Brad Stevens and the Celtics organization to part with the franchise's most recent Finals MVP in favor of a 36-year-old injury-prone wing well past his prime? Many ultimately saw the move as a salary dump, coming out of the summer with tempered expectations for Jayson Tatum's first full season back from his Achilles injury.

Plenty has been said in the months since that trade regarding the relationship between Brown and Tatum, and the potential reasons why the trade may or may not have been executed. The tension culminated in a marquee matchup between Philadelphia and Boston on Tuesday night that saw the two superstars face off against each other for the first time in their NBA careers.

And while both players had their moments throughout the game, it was PG-13 who shined the brightest on the night, reminding everyone of the player he still is and making it clear that he would like to have his say on which team won the Brown trade.

Paul George scores 36 in Philadelphia revenge game

Returning to the Xfinity Mobile Arena for the first time since leaving the Sixers, George led all scorers with 36 points in Boston's 123-101 win over Philadelphia in the first of four regular-season meetings between the teams this year.

PG-13 shot 14-of-22 from the floor, including a stunning 6-of-11 from three. George rounded out his box score with five rebounds and one assist against one turnover in 30 minutes.

The performance was vintage, harkening back to a player whom hoops fans felt they had hardly seen in recent years. In his two years with Philly, George bettered Tuesday night's 36-point tally just once, dropping 39 on the Washington Wizards back in April.

It's already his second 30-point performance of the season for Boston, and speaking with NBC postgame, George was quick to credit his renewed health as the catalyst for his strong start with the Celtics.

"The biggest thing is, I'm healthy," George said. "That was the biggest challenge, the biggest hurdle of the two years I was here in Philly. And then what I've learned is, I'm a little bit better with more usage. And that's no knock to my opportunities here with Philly. Quite frankly, I wasn't healthy to take on the workload that I feel I'm at my best at. 

"Here in Boston, they gave me an opportunity to come out here and play and be myself," George continued. "Joe [Mazzulla] has integrated me right into the offense and allowed me to just be myself."

Jayson Tatum vs. Jaylen Brown takes a back seat

With George going on a tear, the narrative around the Tatum vs. Brown matchup ended up fading to the background, at least in terms of on-court action. After a one-sided pregame interaction in which Tatum tried to dap up Brown and the new Sixer declined to return the favor, the two stayed locked into the basketball throughout the contest, sharing a few defensive assignments on each other but no further "lamb chops and gravy" to speak of.

Tatum ended the night with 21 points, six rebounds and four assists, and recorded the night's standout highlight, a drive through a double-team into a brutal poster dunk on LeBron James. Brown, on the other hand, enjoyed less success, finishing with 13 points and posting game-worsts of four turnovers and a -27 plus-minus rating.