PHILADELPHIA – With Ben Simmons coming to town and ready to play, the Philadelphia 76ers came even more ready. Stellar efforts from numerous players got the Sixers a win by a score of 115-106 over the Brooklyn Nets, spoiling the on-court return of Simmons to his former club.
After the game, Doc Rivers was vocal about the key Sixers players that stepped up. He explained that each guy had their moments at different points in the game.
“You play the guys. You ride a hand, each guy different,” the Sixers head coach said after the game. “In the first half, I thought Georges really helped us offensively. In the second half, it was Tobias. Beginning of the first half I thought ‘Trezz was good. The rest of the game, I thought Paul Reed was phenomenal. And I thought De’Anthony Melton defensively was just unbelievable. And then down the stretch, Shake got it going. So, you know, it's different because it's one of those games you have to try to figure out who the hot hand is for you offensively, try to ride that. And then defensively, you just have to be solid.”
Tobias Harris led the way with a gutsy performance, scoring 24 points, including 18 in the second half. He hurt his ankle and had to be removed from the game but came back to help the Sixers fight on and eventually pull ahead in a close game. Several other players who started the season as reserves came through with some huge games.
De'Anthony Melton had a great all-around performance by tallying 22 points while shooting 6-11 from 3, four assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Paul Reed had 19 points and 10 rebounds (marking the second double-double of his career) along with three steals, two blocks and, most impressively, just one foul in 31 minutes. Shake Milton, who led the Sixers with five assists, scored 16 points. Georges Niang matched that point total in 17 minutes while collecting five boards and trash-talking Simmons and Kevin Durant. Montrezl Harrell played just 15 minutes but contributed six points and seven rebounds, six of which were on the offensive end.
Simmons had a solid game with 11 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks but he wasn't able to lead his star-studded team to a win against his former team without its three best players.
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