By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Ben Simmons poured a career-high 42 points but the Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Utah Jazz in the battle of NBA conference leaders Monday. It actually marked the third loss in a row for the Sixers. Joel Embiid was a late scratch in the final stop of a four-game West Coast trip.
Simmons, 24, was 15/26 from the field and also registered 12 rebounds, nine assists, one steal, and one block in 38 minutes. His effort did not bring in the “W” but enabled him to present his latest case against the 2018 and 2019 Defensive Player of the Year.
“I loved it when I saw Rudy was guarding me,” he said smiling, “I love being able to go at somebody like that. I felt like it was a little bit of a disrespect putting him on me, but it is what it is. It felt good that I was able to dominate like that offensively. Defensively, I did okay. I didn’t do great, but we want to get this win bad and we didn’t so we gotta move on.”
The Jazz securing the eighth win in a row improved the 2020-21 tally to 23-5 and dropped opponents to 18-10.
Photo Credit: Getty Images