NBA Playoffs 2019: Ben Simmons ready to face Kawhi Leonard, Toronto as Philadelphia rolls past Brooklyn
Aussie star Ben Simmons had just three words when asked how he will approach the challenge of facing nemesis Kawhi Leonard and Toronto after his Philadelphia side squashed Brooklyn to advance to round 2 of the NBA playoffs.
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Aussie star Ben Simmons had just three words when asked how he would approach the challenge of facing nemesis Kawhi Leonard and Toronto after his Philadelphia side squashed Brooklyn to advance to Round 2 of the NBA playoffs.
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“Prepare, stay focused,” he told reporters, following the 122-100 win over the Nets that clinched a 4-1 result in the best of seven series.
LEADER: SIMMONS RUNNING SIXERS’ SHOW
The Sixers sent a statement, holding the Nets to a shot clock-era playoff record low of 31 points in the first half, carrying a 29-point lead into the long break — the largest margin in franchise playoff history.
Simmons had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the rout as no Sixer played more than 27 minutes.
He’s already focused on the next task — a Raptors team that won the season series 3-1 — and he plans to stay on the attack.
“I’ve got to keep that mentality, be aggressive, attack the rim and find my guys,” he said.
“I think, intensity-wise and physicality, I think our team was physical the whole time — besides the first game (which the Sixers lost) — I think we did a good job of that, so I think we need to take that over to Toronto.”
Leonard has scored 36, 31 and 24 in three wins over the Sixers this season, clamping down on Simmons — who turned the ball over 24 times across the three games. The former finals MVP did not play in the Sixers’ only win.
Simmons learnt from a poor Game 1 to explode in the rest of the Brooklyn series.
“I think so far, over the two seasons I’ve played, I’ve grown a lot in terms of maturity, just playing the game and learning that point guard position that I was kind of thrown into,” he said.
“But I’ve been enjoying it, I think so far it’s been ups and downs, but I’m getting there.
“(I’ve learnt) a lot. For me, I’ve got to be the guy who’s running the team, I’m the point guard I have the ball for the majority of the time bringing it up and I’ve got to orchestrate everything going on.
“It’s a blessing and a curse, but I’m really enjoying having the opportunity to do that.”
Simmons said his teammates — led by 23 points and 13 rebounds from star big man Joel Embiid — had locked in before the game in a bid to avoid sending the series back to Brooklyn.
“I think everybody was on their toes before the game, just making sure we were all locked in because we didn’t want to have an upset and go back to Brooklyn,” he said.
“I think everybody did a good job of locking in and doing their job”
In what had been a heated series, started by Nets’ veteran Jared Dudley — who was roundly booed by the Philly crowd — Aussie Jonah Bolden and teammate Greg Monroe, and Brooklyn’s Dzanan Musa and Radians Kurucs tangled late in the game and were ejected. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 21 off the bench for a Nets side that featured four starters who failed to reach double digits.
Like the Sixers, the Raptors lost the first game of their series, before winning four straight against the Orlando Magic.
Leonard poured in 27 points on a perfect 5-5 shooting to go with seven boards in the 115-96 blowout.
Most Improved Player fancy Paskal Siakam added 24 points in the win.
Aussie Patty Mills’ San Antonio Spurs are on the brink of elimination after dropping Game 5 of their series to Denver, 90-108.
Mills managed just 5 points in 21 minutes off the bench as Nuggets’ sharpshooter Jamal Murray poured in 23 and star centre Nikola Jokic fell just short of a triple double with 16-11-8.
Damian Lillard produced an incredible performance, including a ludicrous game winner to dump Russell Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder out of the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year in a 115-112 result.
Lillard called game at the buzzer — from just inside the half court line — producing his 48th, 49th and 50th points in a masterclass few in the NBA could match.
Paul George had 36 points for the Thunder and Russell Westbrook lived up to the adage triple doubles don’t necessarily translate to wins, with 29 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds — and a missed layup with 19 seconds left that would have given the Thunder the lead.
The Blazers will face the winner of Denver and San Antonio in the second round.
Damian Lillard (50 PTS) buries the three for the #TissotBuzzerBeater and the @trailblazers advance to the Western Conference Semifinals with the 118-115 Game 5 victory! #ThisIsYourTime #RipCity#NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/cVqLJkHLR4
— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2019
Originally published as NBA Playoffs 2019: Ben Simmons ready to face Kawhi Leonard, Toronto as Philadelphia rolls past Brooklyn
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