Ever since the blockbuster trade of James Harden and Ben Simmons took place, everyone circled the date on the calendar when the two players will face off against one another. Well, the much-anticipated game recently took place, and it went in the favor of Simmons and the Nets by a huge margin.
Although Simmons was sidelined, most were aware that he will be booed upon his return against the Philadelphia 76ers. That was the case as Simmons had to face a lot of boos throughout the game even while watching the games from the bench.
But at the end of the day, the fixture ended in his favor as the Nets completely dominated the 76ers. The win helped the Nets improve their record to 34-33 and hold the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.
Speaking of the boos that Simmons received during the game, initially the Sixers fans were too hyped to be handled. However, when the Nets established a huge lead, they were pretty quiet.
In the postgame conference, Simmons’ teammate Kevin Durant was asked about his thought process and if they were trying to help Ben in such a hostile environment.
“Most definitely, I think all of us were. We look at Ben as our brother, so we knew that this was a hostile environment and we knew he didn’t have an opportunity to play so we wanted to come out there and have him focus on the court more so than always focusing on him. So they focused on the court tonight and it’s hard for you to chant at Ben Simmons when you are losing by that much.”
(starts at 4:35)
KD had a smirk on his face while talking about the fact that the Sixers fans were unable to chant at Simmons during the game. But the fans tried that earlier, and they were once again met by a troll from Durant.
Anyway, winning this fixture will definitely serve as a confidence boost for Simmons and the Nets. Hopefully, they can build on that after winning this game and get back in the race to win the 2022 NBA Championship.
