PHILADELPHIA — The boos were back.
On Wednesday night, the 76ers fans booed Ben Simmons from the time he led the Brooklyn Nets onto the court — just like on Nov. 22.
And just like that night, the Sixers defeated the Nets at the Wells Fargo Center, beating them, 137-133, this time.
Having Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and James Harden was one of the few differences in this one. And that was a good thing for the Sixers (31-16).
Maxey finished with a team-high 27 points off the bench. Harden scored eight of their final 17 points to finish with 23 points, seven assists, and three rebounds. And Embiid had with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals in his first game against Simmons. His steal with 11.7 seconds remaining — stepping in front of a Royce O’Neale pass — all but clinched the game.
But there was a lot of hype surrounding Embiid facing Simmons for the first time.
Simmons, who forced a trade to the Nets in February 2022, didn’t play last season. Meanwhile, Embiid missed the Sixers’ 115-106 home victory over Brooklyn on Nov. 22 with a sprained left foot.
So the biggest subplot in this game was what would happen if Simmons had to guard Embiid in the post on a switch.
That’s because it’s no secret that the two standouts didn’t see eye-to-eye. Embiid got his points, scoring at least 26 for the eighth consecutive game. However, he struggled to score when guarded by Simmons.
But it didn’t matter as the Sixers extended their league-best winning streak to six games. The victory pulled the Eastern Conference’s second-place team within three games of the first-place Boston Celtics. The Sixers also handed the fourth-place Nets (29-18) their fifth loss in seven games.
And on this night, they won with balance.
De’Anthony Melton (19 points, three blocks), Tobias Harris (18 points), and Matisse Thybulle (10 points, three steals) were their other double-digit scorers.
Former Sixer Seth Curry made 7 of 10 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 32 points. Kyrie Irving had 30 points and 10 assists, and Nic Claxton had 25 points and 11 rebounds while Simmons had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go with five rebounds and five assists.
Simmons vs. Embid
It didn’t take long before the fans got the matchup they wanted.
Embiid posted up Simmons on the Sixers’ second offensive possession. But the 6-foot-10, 240-pounder didn’t back down. He actually held his own against the 7-2, 280-pounder. Embiid ended up missing a 6-foot jumper 1 minute, 13 seconds into the game. Then after grabbing his own rebound, Embiid missed a quick put-back layup.
With Simmons on the bench with two fouls, Embiid scored his first basket — a dunk — to knot the score, 32-32, with 3:34 left in the quarter. The Sixers standout finished the quarter with six points on 1-of-5 shooting along with three rebounds and two assists.
Embiid made his first basket in the second quarter, a 3-pointer, before scoring on a layup and driving dunk. However, he missed final three shot attempts of the half. The first two misses — a 27-foot turnaround 3-pointer and a 16-foot jumper — came while guarded by Simmons. His last shot attempt was a 6-foot heave before time expired in the half.
In the second quarter, Embiid appeared to focus on just playing his game as opposed to trying to post up Simmons.
No Simmons Zone
Sixers fans still voiced their disdain for Simmons.
The point guard was booed whenever he touched the ball and checked back into the game. The fans screaming obscenities at him began 11 minutes before tipoff.
However, this time there was a group of Nets fans cheering for Simmons in Section 217 They chanted “Ben Simmons … Ben Simmons!” But the Sixers fans caught on quickly and chanted “Sucks!” in response to the Nets fans, “Simmons” chants. In the second quarter, a group of Sixers fans started chanting, “[Bleep] Ben Simmons … [Bleep] Ben Simmons.” That came moments before he missed his first shot attempt — a 3-foot jumper — with 4:31 before intermission.
Simmons made his second shot attempt, a 14-foot hook, with 9:32 before missing a 13-footer moments later. Then he made a pair of foul shots with 8:41 left in the quarter. And second basket came on a dunk with 1:56 remaining in the quarter. And he scored 14-foot jumper with 0.7 seconds left in the quarter.
And the boos and chants kept coming, especially after Simmons was called for a technical foul with 10:43 left. That’s when the crowd kept chanting, “[Bleep] Ben Simmons ... [Bleep] Ben Simmons.”
But Nets coach Jacque Vaughn told Simmons before the game to approach this matchup like it was just the next game on the schedule.
“So my conversation wasn’t any different than it was versus Golden State,” Vaughn said of the Nets last opponent. “So no extra conversation tonight. What he will be asked to do is play extremely hard in his minutes. To do what he needs to do to help his teammates when a ballgame. To be counted on tonight to provide force on both ends of the [floor.]”
