Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons was met with a hostile welcome upon arriving to Vivint Smart Home Arena to face the Utah Jazz for a nationally televised game on ESPN. The reigning Rookie of the Year responded in due fashion, stuffing the box score with 13 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists, three steals and a blocked shot in a 114-97 win on the road.
“I love being able to come into an arena and hear boos and chants, whatever it is, see signs and come in here and win by 20,” said Simmons, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. “I mean, there's nothing better than that.”
Jazz fans are still sour at the way Simmons handled a Rookie of the Year race with Donovan Mitchell, with both players darting shots over the media vying for the award.
Simmons emphasized it wasn't a race, but rather a landslide win in his favor.
“It wasn't a f***ing race,” Simmons told a reporter. “Did you see the votes?”
Yet coach Brett Brown loved the fact that his starting point man came out with an edge, one that set the tone at both ends of the floor.
“He spoke with his play,” said Brown. “With the exception of those [seven] turnovers, he had a triple-double and was dominant. We're all going to look at the numbers and what I remember the most, and I think the tape will confirm it, is how dominant he was defensively.”
Mitchell had a decent game himself, which was only the third this month in which he shot 50 percent or better from the floor.
Meanwhile, Ben Simmons' game has held up much steadier than Mitchell's in their sophomore season, posting eerily similar averages from his rookie year, all while shooting a dominant 57.8 percent from the field.
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