Ben Simmons makes NBA history with incredible career-high

Ben Simmons was simply unstoppable as he ran riot against the Jazz in a history-making display that rewrote the NBA record books.

Ben Simmons caught fire against Phoenix.

Ben Simmons caught fire against Utah as he hit a new career high but it wasn’t enough for Philadelphia as the 76ers crashed to a 134-123 defeat on Tuesday (AEDT).

Simmons poured in 42 points — the most he’s ever scored in a single NBA game and the most ever scored by an Aussie in the league — and backed it up with nine rebounds and 12 assists, shouldering the burden after All-Star centre Joel Embiid missed the game with back soreness.

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Importantly, Simmons said his development between the ears has been pivotal in helping him hit top form, adding it’s “scary” what he can accomplish if he gets the mental side of his game sorted.

The 24-year-old added he felt motivated to perform after being tagged by Jazz star Rudy Gobert.

“Been working on my mentality a lot these last few weeks,” Simmons said of his performance. “It’s not easy to change the way you play.

“My scoring’s been a lot higher these last five, six games.

“I loved when I saw Rudy was guarding me. I felt it was a little bit of disrespect putting him on me.

“I’m just trying to progress my game and take it to the next level.

“It felt good that I could get into a rhythm offensively … I’ve got to keep pushing forward, offensively, and stay dominant.”

Simmons was unstoppable.

Tobias Harris chimed in with 36 points for Philly but Jordan Clarkson (40 points), Australian Joe Ingles (20 points) and Donovan Mitchell (24 points) combined to seal an 11-point win for the Jazz.

Simmons drained 19 points in the opening quarter alone — surpassing his whole game average this season of 14.1 points — as he hit a new level of perfection, going seven-of-seven from the field and five-of-five from the free throw line.

“He’s possessed right now,” Marc Zumoff said in commentary.

Simmons became just the fourth player in franchise history to drop a 40-point double-double (with assists) for the Sixers, and beat Aron Baynes’ 37 points last season to score the most points ever by an Aussie in the NBA.

Originally published as Ben Simmons makes NBA history with incredible career-high