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Jaylen Brown's actions spoke louder than words when he faced his old team for the first time this season.
On Tuesday, Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers took on Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics for the first time in his career. Tuesday night's clash marked the first time Brown and Tatum shared the floor at the same time after the former was shockingly traded to a division rival.
And Brown made it clear that he was not happy with how his time in Boston ended, especially after he won NBA Finals MVP just two years before he was sent to Philadelphia in a package headlined by aging star Paul George.
Before the tipoff, Tatum went to each 76ers player to offer them some acknowledgment as they prepared for the game. Standing by the half-court line, Brown attempted to spin the basketball on his finger as Tatum walked over, in hopes of getting a reaction from his former teammate.
Brown dropped the ball and slightly bent over as Tatum approached him, causing the Celtics star to instead dap up Brown's bicep. Tatum then tapped Brown in the chest twice before walking away to do his specific handshake with LeBron James.
Throughout the entire sequence, Brown remained stoic, doing his best to keep his attention away from Tatum. That animosity persisted throughout the game as well, with Brown often playing very physical with Tatum, whom he guarded for most of the evening.
In the end, it was Tatum and the Celtics who walked away with the win, as the star scored 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field with six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. George, the man Brown was traded for, scored 36 points on 14-of-22 shooting from the field, including a 6 of 11 showing from 3-point range.
Brown, on the other hand, recorded 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field in the 123-101 loss. What's more, his -27 plus/minus was the worst of any player.
Still, the 30-year-old made it a point to let his former teammates, sans Tatum, know that he held no grudges toward them, taking a moment to dap each of them up before they went their separate ways.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Brown was pressed as to why he seemingly did his best to ignore his former teammate before the game began in earnest, and the star made it clear that his attention was elsewhere.
"I'm just focused on coming out and doing what's best for my team," he said to reporters in the locker room. "You know, everything else was just, to be honest, I wasn't paying attention.
"But, you know, credit to Jayson. He played well tonight. Credit to the Celtics. They executed. They shot the hell out of the ball. And they were the better team tonight."
Tatum himself downplayed the moment as well, claiming that the energy focused on his interaction with Brown was misplaced.
"Listen, it's not about that," Tatum told reporters after the win. "Tonight was a good team win. PG was incredible. That's all there really is to talk about it."