Simmons sparked by All-Star snub
Sixers rookie picks up fifth triple-double in win over Chicago
Ben Simmons wasn’t among the players selected as an All-Star Game reserve — and the rookie showed what the league will be missing. Simmons had 19 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists for his fifth tripledouble of the season to lead the host Philadelphia 76ers to a 115-101 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
Dario Saric added 21 points and 10 rebounds and Joel Embiid had 22 points for the 76ers, who have won seven of 10.
Philadelphia played without guards JJ Redick (left leg), T.J. McConnell (personal) and Jerryd Bayless (left wrist), but Simmons picked up the slack.
The rookie was just two assists away from a triple-double in the first half when he helped the 76ers to a 55-41 halftime lead with 11 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Bobby Portis scored 22 points and Zach LaVine had 21 for the Bulls. ROCKETS 104, MAVERICKS 97 >> James Harden scored 25 points after getting named to his sixth straight Western Conference All-Star team and Trevor Ariza had 23 points as the Rockets beat their Texas rivals for the sixth straight time, a streak that started with a four-game sweep last season. Wesley Matthews matched his season high with 29 points for the Mavericks, who lost for the seventh time in 10 games. SPURS 108, GRIZZLIES 85 >> Pau Gasol finished an assist short of a triple-double with 14 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, Patty Mills scored 15 and Bryn Forbes and Danny Green also finished with 14 points each for San Antonio. Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Deyonta Davis added 12 points as the Grizzlies were hampered by 43 percent shooting. Between illness and rest, each team was down at least four players, creating some makeshift lineups. Spurs leadingscorer LaMarcus Aldridge took the night off for rest. PELICANS 101, HORNETS 96 >> Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis each scored 19 points, DeMarcus Cousins had 16 points and 13 rebounds and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated Charlotte for their sixth win in the last seven games. Cousins had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Pelicans. Dwight Howard had 22 points and 16 rebounds in his 1,000th career game to lead the Hornets.
PACERS 116, SUNS 101 >> Thaddeus Young scored 22 points and Victor Oladipo had 21 points and nine assists for Indiana. The Pacers have won five of six, blowing out the Suns for the second time in 10 days. Josh Jackson had 20 points, while Greg Monroe had 16 points and a season-high 17 rebounds to lead Phoenix, which never led and didn’t get closer than 10 over the final three quarters. Devin Booker and Troy Daniels each scored 19 points. JAZZ 98, PISTONS 95, (OT) >> Joe Ingles made a tying layup in the final seconds of regulation, then added two straight 3-pointers in overtime to lift Utah. The Pistons lost their sixth straight by blowing a nine-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Andre Drummond had 30 points and 24 rebounds for Detroit, and he fueled a 10-0 run that put the Pistons ahead 88-79, but Utah closed strong in the fourth quarter. Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell each had 15 points for Utah. RAPTORS 108, HAWKS 93 >> Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the rested Toronto Raptors used strong 3-point shooting to beat Atlanta. The Raptors improved to 25-6 when making at least 10 3s this season. Fred VanVleet added 19 points off the bench and All-Star starter DeMar DeRozan had 14 as Toronto moved to 3-0 against Atlanta this season. Dennis Schroder led Atlanta with 20 points, and John Collins had 13 points and career-high 16 rebounds. TRAILBLAZERS 123, TIMBERWOLVES 114 >> Damian Lillard had 31 points and CJ McCollum added 28 for Portland, which also got 15 from Al-Farouq Aminu. Andrew Wiggins led Minnesota with 24 points, backed by 16 from Karl-Anthony Towns and 15 from Jeff Teague.
CELTICS 113, CLIPPERS 102 >> Kyrie Irving scored 20 points and Jayson Tatum had 18 for Boston, which snapped a season-high fourgame losing streak. Marcus Morris and Terry Rozier III each added 15 points for Boston. Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 23 points and Lou Williams had 20 in Los Angeles’ third consecutive loss.