2. Simmons suffocates Nets
The 76ers had just barely squeaked out a victory against the Knicks on Jan. 18 thanks to a late three from Tobias Harris. They remained the the big apple to face off with New York’s best team — the Brooklyn Nets — who the Sixers had faced just five days earlier. Up until this point Simmons’ shining moment for the season was arguably his two (kind of three) shots from deep.
On Jan. 20, Ben Simmons showed us all why he is deserving of his max contract extension.
Ben did it all on the offensive end. He tied his career high with 34 points. Snagged 12 boards. Dropped 12 assists. He took 14 field goal attempts and 14 free throw attempts, only missing six shots in all. On a night where the Sixers were without the services of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons did more than his part. But that wasn’t all.
He put up monstrous numbers on the defensive side as well. Besides shutting down every person he matched up against, Ben filled the stat sheet too. He tallied five steals while also blocking two shots and coming away with numerous deflections.
Brett Brown put it best: “Ben Simmons was ridiculously dominant tonight.”