SIMMONS QUIET BUT SIXERS SOAR AT GARDEN
BEN Simmons was relatively quiet in his first Christmas NBA game, but it didn’t worry the rookie as his Philadelphia 76ers snapped a fivegame losing streak.
The Australian NBA AllStar hopeful finished with eight points, eight rebounds and three assists in the 105-98 defeat of the New York Knicks in the 76ers’ first Christmas game since 2001. A Simmons steal and breakaway dunk sealed the result with just more than one minute remaining after he was kept quiet in offence throughout the contest.
A tally of just two turnovers was perhaps most telling, though, with the point forward mindful of his ball security given he had averaged four a game during the team’s recent run of losses.
“Personally, for me, I was trying to make less errors on the court,” Simmons told ESPN after the win at Madison Square Garden.
“I think I only had one or two turnovers so I was trying to lower those.
“I didn’t get anything (for Christmas) yet – besides a win, but I’ll just take the win.”
Joel Embiid had 25 points and 16 rebounds to offset Knicks big man Enes Kanter’s massive 31 points and 22 rebounds.
Simmons’ coach, Brett Brown, said his impact should not be judged solely by his numbers.
“Don’t get tripped by the stat sheets,” Brown said.