Philadelphia 76ers wing Ben Simmons had his hands on the defense in the first half of a 127-111 final win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday. Trying to keep up with Hawks star Trey Young is no easy task.
But with the Sixers leading five points on the break, & Simmons having scored just four points up to that point—matching his total points from Game 2—Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers challenged him to do more.
Rivers said of Simmons, "We thought he passed up a lot of opportunities—in the fast break, at the post. And so we told him we were going to come out & display him at the post." "And he was great for us. It's exactly what we needed. With his speed & power, it was great."
Simmons scored 11 of his 18 points in the third & added three of his seven assists. Philadelphia, playing on the road, overtook Atlanta 15 in the quarter, starting 8-for-8 as a team after halftime. Simmons & fellow Sixers star Joel Embiid scored or assisted 30 of Philly's 34 points in this period.
"It was definitely the quarter in which they were able to get their pace & fall apart," said Young, who still scored 28 points on 9-for-17 shooting & made eight assists.
According to data compiled by ESPN Stats & Information, Simmons ended up defending Young 42 out of 85 plays.
"It's exhausting when you think about what we are asking Ben to do: Follow Trai Young, follow him around the screen and push the ball to the floor with speed," Rivers said. "We did the same thing at halftime when one of my coaches reminded me that he was guarding the trai when I was screaming about pace.
"He said, 'He is also guarding TRAI.' So, it's tough. But he's young, he's got the stamina, so it's been good for us."
When later asked about Rivers' halftime instruction, Simmons tried to suppress a satisfied smile.
"I was just trying to push the pace, go into the lanes, find your friends and be aggressive. Go to the rim," he said. "I think I did a good job of it, that second half."
It was Simmons' first game since the Utah Jazz's Rudy Gobert was named Defensive Player of the Year, but he seemed to be trailing his second-place finish, just as Embiid finished second for MVP. The coming gave air to the past.
"Congratulations Rudy. I mean, that's it," Simmons said. "I am not really worried about individual awards. I want championships. So that's my goal. Honestly, the goal is never to be Defensive Player of the Year. It's just to go out there & do my job & be the best." Strive to be the defender in the league, regardless of the rewards.
"But the end goal is a championship. And so I had to do my job at a higher level."
According to research by the Elias Sports Bureau, Embiid finished with 27 points, 9 rebounds & 8 assists, becoming the second player of just 76ers in franchise history to average 35 points & 10 rebounds in the three-game playoff period, after Wilt Chamberlain. Gone.
Much like Rivers, Embiid encouraged Simmons to take over because of the way Atlanta was shadowing him across the floor with Clint Capella & then often sending double-team in his direction.
Embiid said, "I just told him, 'You need to be aggressive & you need to attack, because there's a lot of room. Especially the way they're protecting me,'" Embiid said. "So I told him to just be aggressive & just go out there and just dominate."
Simmons made sure Embiid stayed in the mix, finding the all-star big man with the prettiest drama of the night, of course: an over-the-shoulder alley-oop he put up Philly in the middle of the third quarter. Threw a bite Embiid up 16.
"We have been playing together for so long that we've known each other," Embiid said. "He knows me, he knows where I need the ball & I know how to open it. So it was a good pass, & I tried my best to finish it."