Simmons joins elite company with NBA playoffs triple-double
Ben Simmons has netted a triple-double consisting of 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to carry the Philadelphia 76ers past the Miami Heat 106-102 at American Airlines Arena.
Simmons is the fifth rookie in NBA history with a triple-double in the playoffs and the first since Magic Johnson had five in 1980.
JJ Redick scored 24 points, while Joel Embiid had 14 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Dario Saric added 11 points as the Sixers took a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 25 points, while Goran Dragic added 20. James Johnson scored 15 points and Hassan Whiteside posted a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds.
External Link: Ben Simmons' mammoth dunk against the Heat
"I'm just doing my job," Simmons said.
"The stats I've averaged all season have been up there so it's not really anything new for the team or myself.
"As long as we're winning I'm happy. All those accolades will come if we're all doing the right thing."
Simmons nearly had a quadruple-double with a career-high seven turnovers,
"He was a monster," Embiid said of Simmons.
"I think that's the first time the Sixers had a triple-double [in the play-offs] since Charles Barkley [in 1991]. So that's big time, he was a beast tonight.
"It's almost become expected now that he's got to go average a triple-double.
"He's very tough physically but he's even tougher, I think, mentally.
"The last four games have been as vocal and as demonstrative as I've seen him all season. He's been fantastic.
"He's coming out of his shell in regards to leadership and that's huge for us."
External Link: Philadelphia 76ers tweets Splash time
The 76ers nearly fluffed their lines due to poor discipline, conceding a string of turnovers, but Philadelphia got its act together in the late stages, with just the two turnovers in the final quarter.
"We flipped our whole discipline in the fourth period," coach Brett Brown said.
"The fact that you actually can with this volume of turnovers is mind-boggling."
Brown said having the 21-year-old Simmons and 24-year-old Embiid at his disposal is a special situation.
"I think Ben's composure down the stretch, and I didn't take him out, and he's one of these rare athletes that rarely do I say, 'Oh Ben Simmons is tired'; he doesn't seem to fatigue blatantly," he said.
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