Most of the attention going into Tuesday's clash between the Eastern Conference's top two seeds went to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The two former Boston Celtics teammates squared off for the first time since the latter was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, and based on both the back and forth between them in the press and the chilly reception Brown gave Tatum on the floor, there's a fair bit of animosity between the two.

Yet it was ultimately the other player involved in that blockbuster, Paul George, who wound up stealing the show. After two years in Philadelphia, George returned to his old stomping grounds for the first time as a Celtic and led all scorers with 36 points in Boston's 123-101 victory. 

Despite that stellar outing, it was what happened during a stoppage in the fourth quarter that became one of the night's most notable moments. After drilling his fourth 3-pointer to give the Celtics a 100-82 lead, the 76ers called timeout. As George retreated to Boston's bench, he gave the Philadelphia crowd the middle finger.

In the moment, it felt as if George might be taking some revenge against the team that shipped him out over the summer. As George explained after the game, however, it wasn't anger at the entire 76ers fanbase or the team itself that motivated the middle finger. It was one fan in particular.

"There was a fan being an asshole," George explained. "Ball rolled to him. He looked me dead in my eyes, dropped the ball on the ground as if like I'm a dog to go fetch or go get it instead of passing the ball to me like a normal fan would do, and so yeah, so then I rolled him a middle finger in return."

Philadelphia's fans aren't known for being especially kind to opposing players, and George's tenure in Philadelphia didn't exactly go as planned. After signing a four-year max contract in the summer of 2024, George, due to a combination of injuries and a suspension, played just 78 regular-season games for the 76ers. Most of that time was spent playing below his typical standard, though he thrived after returning from that 25-game suspension a year ago and wound up being vital in Philadelphia's first-round comeback against Boston. 

Now that George is thriving for a rival, there was seemingly some bitterness in the crowd. And George made it perfectly clear how he felt about that both during the game and after it.