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What an absolutely thrilling game on Friday night between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Wells Fargo Center. Although the Cavs trailed by as many as 30 points in the second quarter, their insane comeback attempt came up just short as rising star Ben Simmons and the Sixers held off Cleveland for a 132-130 victory.
Both James and Simmons had heroic efforts for their respective teams en route to triple-doubles on the night. Simmons also made history with a performance that came a unique time.
According to a tweet from the official NBA on ESPN account, Simmons is the first player to record a triple-double in the same regular season game that James also has one.
This is the first time in LeBron's regular-season career that he and an opponent have both recorded triple-doubles in the same game. https://t.co/w0hzmGeePL
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 7, 2018
That is a pretty impressive factoid, to say the least, especially since Simmons and the Sixers (49-30) leapfrogged James and the Cavs (49-31) in the standings to take control of the No. 3 seed in a wild Eastern Conference playoff race.
“I’ve got so much respect for him. Probably one of the greatest players to ever play, if not, the greatest,” Simmons said immediately after the game in an interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia.
James was a monster on the stat sheet throughout the night in a Cleveland comeback that came up just short, as the three-time NBA champion had a game-high 44 points on 17-of-29 shooting from the field, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, and two steals. However, James turned the ball over a whopping eight times and missed a critical free-throw attempt in the final seconds of the game.
As for Simmons, he helped propel the Sixers to their 13th straight victory with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting, 15 rebounds, 13 assists, and four steals in 36 minutes of action.