Simmons’ triple-double paces Sixers to ninth straight win

ATLANTA—Ben Simmons had a triple-double in three quarters, Ersan Ilyasova scored 21 points and the Philadelphia 76ers won their ninth straight game with a 101-91 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

With 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, Simmons has five triple-doubles in his last 10 games and 11 overall. The Rookie of the Year candidate did not play after leaving with 3:37 left in the third, giving Philadelphia the kind of performance it needed one game after All-Star center Joel Embiid suffered an orbital eye fracture and a concussion.

Philadelphia jumped out to an 11-point lead twice in the second quarter. The Hawks pulled within three in the first minute of the third, but the Sixers soon put away the game with a 39-15 run that made it 86-59 entering the fourth.

Damion Lee finished with a career-high 20 points and Taurean Prince and Isaiah Taylor each added 12 for Atlanta, the NBA’s second-worst team.

The Sixers, improving to a season-best 15 games over .500, matched the club’s longest winning streak since it had nine straight victories from Feb. 12-March 2, 2003.

JJ Redick scored 11 of his 19 points in the third as Philadelphia did as it pleased with the undermanned Hawks, who learned before the game that scoring and assists leader Dennis Schroder will miss the rest of the season.

Ilyasova had 11 points in the first. Amir Johnson had 11 rebounds in 17 minutes.