Australia’s Ben Simmons set himself beyond such NBA immortals as Michael Jordan and Lebron James with a triple double on Monday in only his fourth league contest for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 21-year-old from Melbourne, last year’s NBA Draft top pick who missed all of last season with a right foot injury, scored 21 points, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and passed out a game-high 10 assists for the Sixers in a 97-86 triumph at Detroit.
“I felt like I needed to just kind of take over and find guys and make plays,” Simmons said.
Simmons became the first NBA player in 50 years to manage a triple double — double-digit game production in three statistical categories — within his first four league starts.
And he’s only the third NBA player to manage the achievement, joining Art “Hambone” Williams of the 1967-68 San Diego Rockets and Oscar Robertson of the 1960 Cincinnati Royals.
Each of those players went on to become an NBA champion, Robertson with Milwaukee in 1971 and Williams with Boston in 1974.
The Aussie is also only the second player to open his NBA career with four double doubles, matching Robertson from 57 years ago.
Cameroon big man Joel Embiid scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the 76ers, who took their first win of the season after three defeats.
“I’m just glad we won, honestly,” said Simmons. “That means so much more than stats for me.
“It’s awesome to have a triple-double but at the same time, it’s even better to win, especially with these guys and a young team like this.”
Simmons is averaging 15.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists through his first four NBA games.
“Him with the ball, able to do the things he does, produces a lot of these mismatches and numbers,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said. “We were able to post him — he’s able to see over pick-and-rolls — and you see how gifted he is in early offense and the open court.
“He has got that breakaway speed that’s jaw-dropping. And he’s 6-foot-10 (2.03m). That stat line, we were kind of seeing snapshots of that the first three games. It just seems a lot more special when it’s associated with a win.”
– Warriors romp at Dallas –
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry scored a game-high 29 points while Kevin Durant added 25 points and Klay Thompson had 21 as the defending champion Golden State Warriors improved to 2-2 with a 133-103 rout at winless Dallas (0-4).
Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and Khris Middleton added 20 to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over visiting Charlotte 103-94. The Greek has cracked 30 points in every game for the 3-1 Bucks.
With 147 points over the first four games of the season for the Bucks, Antetokounmpo broke the club’s four-game season-opening scoring mark of 146 points by Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from 1972.
Mike Conley hit two 3-pointers in a pivotal 13-0 Memphis run in the fourth quarter to help the Grizzlies rally past host Houston 98-90. Spaniard Marc Gasol led Memphis (3-0) with 26 points while Conley added 17.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points to lead five double-figure scorers as the San Antonio Spurs downed visiting Toronto 101-97. Dejounte Murray had 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Spurs.
Bradley Beal scored 20 points and John Wall added 19 and 12 rebounds to power Washington to a 109-104 victory at Denver, Wall’s two free throws with seven seconds remaining sealing the triumph for the 3-0 Wizards.
At Miami, Josh Richardson scored 21 points and Wayne Ellington netted 19 of his 20 points in the second quarter to lead the Miami Heat over Atlanta 104-93. – Agence France-Presse
