By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The Brooklyn Nets delivered a blowout to the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday, and things got heated up between the Sixers’ crowd and Ben Simmons, in the latter’s return to Philadelphia for the first time since his trade.
The home crowd booed Simmons – who sat on the bench throughout the game – continuously, and Nets teammate Kyrie Irving stepped up to defend the Australian guard.
“I think playing for Ben and the night meaning something to Ben and not only Ben, but ‘Dre, Seth,” Irving told reporters post-game. “When you get traded in this league, it’s not easy to deal with. And you pick up your stuff that you’ve made a home out of; you’re in one city and then you have to transfer to another city, it’s not always easy, so we’ve tried to welcome him in with open arms”.
“So when we played tonight, we definitely felt like Ben was on our heart. You could see it, he was wearing it, and we just wanted to go out there and play for him and play well. If you come at Ben, you come at us. You come at anyone else on our team, you come at all of us, and that’s the mentality”, added Irving.
It definitely wasn’t the most pleasant of returns for Simmons in front of a hostile crowd. Per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, a Sixers fan was removed from the arena after yelling at Simmons, while there was extra security presence around the Nets’ bench throughout the game.
Photo credit: Getty Images