Friday night’s matchup against the Cavs meant a little extra to Ben Simmons.
For one, it had massive significance in shaping the Eastern Conference playoff picture. By holding on for a 132-130 win (see observations), the Sixers moved into third place in the standings, half a game ahead of the Cavaliers.
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It also was another opportunity for Simmons to face off against his mentor, LeBron James. While James took over in the second half, finishing with 44 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists (see highlights), he’s now split his four games against Simmons.
Minus Joel Embiid (see story) and with the Sixers searching for 13 straight wins, their most since the 1984-85 season, the spotlight on Simmons was larger than usual.
He delivered, to say the least. Simmons posted his 12th triple-double, notching 27 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists and four steals.
“I feel like every night I need to step up and play my piece for the team,” Simmons said. “Missing Jo, he’s a huge piece for this team, but we have the guys in the locker room to win games like this.”
Simmons made numerous jaw-dropping plays as the Sixers pounced on the Cavs in a dominant first half. Among the highlights were three resounding dunks and a nifty between-the-legs move and dish to JJ Redick for a three-pointer.
While the Sixers let the Cavs back into the game in the second half, Simmons was a key reason why the Sixers never totally relinquished the lead. With the offense often looking stagnant as the Cavs increased their defensive intensity, Simmons frequently was called upon to make a play in isolation late in the shot clock.
He delivered when it mattered, converting multiple difficult baskets in the lane and finding Marco Belinelli (23 points) and Redick (28 points) for several important long-range shots.
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“We’re a good team when we push the ball,” Simmons said. “I think in the third quarter we didn’t push the ball as much, we slowed it down and obviously gave them a little bit of momentum. But overall, I think us pushing the ball, it’s hard to stop that.”
Simmons isn’t the type to fire his team up with loud pregame speeches (see story) but Redick could tell this game mattered more than most for the rookie.
“I’m sure it meant a lot. Ben, I’m sure he doesn’t always show it because he sits behind a glass wall and watches everyone else on the other side, but he’s very competitive,” Redick said. “It seems like these type of games bring out his best, and tonight was an example of that.”
Coach Brett Brown also felt that Simmons brought a bit more than usual Friday night, although he’s starting to expect these kind of performances. Half of Simmons’ 12 triple-doubles have come since March 13.
“I know Ben really embraces the challenge of playing against LeBron,” Brown said. “We all were excited to come back here in Philadelphia and play in front of such an amazing crowd in such a big game. And it didn’t surprise me that he had a big game. When you look at the stat line and you see a triple-double — a significant triple-double, it’s not like he eked in, it was a very authoritative triple-double — it really didn’t surprise me. He’s been doing a lot lately so that doesn’t catch me as much off-guard as it used to.”