The Boston Celtics on Saturday became the latest team to feel the wrath of Philadelphia fans.
Boston entered Wells Fargo Center to face the 76ers in a matchup of Eastern Conference rivals and ultimately claimed a last-second victory over Joel Embiid and company. Both prior to tipoff and during the contest, however, Jaylen Brown and other Celtics were on the receiving end of some “excessive” banter, according to Boston’s star.
“The crowd was a little bit hostile. In moments, people on the side was talking crazy,” Brown told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin after scoring a team-high 26 points to lift the Green to a 110-107 victory. “But we persevere, make some plays and get the win.”
When Brown was pressed on whether he enjoys that sort of hostile environment, he provided a bit more detail on those interactions.
“It depends,” Brown told Chin. “I started talking to one of the fans ’cause it got a little excessive, where it got a little disrespectful and stuff like that. Even before the game, we was entering the arena and there was people saying, ‘I hope you tear your ACL.’ And it’s just, I understand that people care and they love the team that they cheer for, but I think it gets a little excessive at times.”
The Athletic’s Jared Weiss shared that Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and Grant Williams all were talking in the locker room about their own interactions with fans, too.
Philadelphia fans certainly have been known to give that sort of treatment to opposing teams and fans, whether it be in support of the 76ers or the Eagles. The Celtics have proven the ability to overcome those sorts of taunts as Boston continues to have Philadelphia’s number.
