You're listening to Rewind. They listen back on press conferences, highlights and analysis from the seventy sixers previous game and inspired performance by Ben Simmons and inspired victory for the Philadelphia seventy Sixers at Brooklyn this afternoon one seventeen, one eleven. I'm Brian Seltzer, and man, how things can change in the NBA, And quickly hear Brett Brown talk about that all the time, in bad times and in good rewind.
The last Monday, the seventy Sixers had just gone winless on a two game trip that stopped at Dallas and Indiana. They had dropped six of their previous eight games. Joel Embiad's timetable for a turn was unknown and unclear, but here the seventy sixers are now a week later, having won four straight, including two in a row on the road.
Ben Simmons, the Eastern Conference Player of the Week is named during the game today, is playing some of the best basketball of his career, and the seventy Sixers are headed north to Toronto, where on Wednesday night they'll have an opportunity to tie the Raptors for first place in the Atlantic Division and also third place in the Eastern Conference.
All right, things looking and feeling pretty good? I mean, Ben Simmons was insane today, becoming the first player in NBA history of record to hit these minimums in a single game. Thirty four points, twelve rebounds, twelve assists, and five steals. He also had two block shots in over forty two minutes of action. He only missed two of his fourteen field goal attempts. He was ten of fourteen
from the free throw line. That is an All Star And oh, by the way, by eleven fifty nine Eastern tonight your final opportunity to cast your vote for the All Star Game, So do it for Ben Simmons. His fifth straight personal high twenty point game, and this was fineage for him, one of the best games of his career, thirty four points, indeed, tying a career high. And then in crunch time, Al Horford continuing to come up with
big plays. He had two huge blocks, also a major three pointer that gave the seventy sixers a five point lead one thirteen one away down the stretch. And that was the basket where you kind of you know, I beg your pardon fur con Quorkmas hitting that but al Horford hitting two field goals leading up to that, including a three, and that was the point of the game where the Sixers felt like they finally had this one
in control. Today against the Nets, just a really good all around complete victory where we saw a lot of different people step up the defense of intensity. That was a theme the Sixers were looking to carry over on the road from home. We saw that against the Knicks on Saturday, again against Brooklyn this afternoon, and a really nice victory for the seventy sixers. Seventy sixers with the winner now twenty nine and sixteen. Brooklyn drops to eighteen and twenty four on the year. We'll go to Tom
McGinnis now at Barclay Center. Tom, the Nets at various points of this game seemed like they were in control, but it was really when Brett Brown went to an unconventional lineup change late in the third quarter, bringing Ben Simmons for Al Horford, that things seem to turn around. Yeah. Ben was terrific and Britan, I don't know if you want to go to this, but Ben is actually speaking in the lock. Yeah, let's do it. Can get that,
So here's Ben or anything like that. That's just you know, a guy's working hard, but just the way he's able to get the ball out, get his hands out there and make plays for us is huge. And he made a lot of game win he plays for us. What type of lift did Al Horford give you? Choose he was? He was a beast down low, especially defensively that block at the end, Um, it was major for us, and you know, everybody chipped in and it made plays to keep the energy going. Coach. Coach continues to use you
at the five a little bit. What are you saying at out of there and we see him what kind of success he having offensively and defensively for you? Um? I mean it's tough for any big to really garden me when I'm going at him. Um, And that's not not going to any big. That's just I'm just pretty fast.
And then get to the rim and then you got a guy like how comes out who has great touch, great basketball IQ and he's able to find me and just make the right play and make good reads off that pick Ben Simmons from outside well in the dress room and I thought, Brian, that was the big play
for the Sixers that that kind of gave Ben. You know, he was already having an outstanding game, but that's when he kind of kicked it into into overdrive dominating when he started to play that five spot, when he was in that pick and roll action with Netto, because Netto was feeding him and Ben was just dugging the ball left and right, and that, you know, just bootles of confidence. That one play where the young Claxton tried to foul
Ben and Simmons didn't even get knocked down. I mean that that was That's a lot right there, So that's part of it. I thought that really kind of jump started him even more, if you will. When he was playing like that in the third thirty four twelve twelve and five steals for Ben Simmons, nineteen points for al Horford to go with six rebounds, two assists in two block shots for the Sixers, they pick up their second
straight road victory. Tom. I know that we get the opportunity to kind of view this through a very hyper sensitive microscope. We see every seventy Sixers game, just about every single play on the year. So when you look at Ben Simmons, Matisse Styble, I mean, I'm trying not to overreact, but as a tandem. I mean, the two
of them are just tenacious. If you're an imposing team's driver and you go in there and Ben Simmons and Motifs are surrounding you and putting their hands in there, reaching out with their length, I mean, that's a that's a tough situation to navigate. And we saw that late in the game again today where they together and individually
came up with some huge defensive stops. Absolutely and really like stops, but like because of what you're talking about with their length, just a deflection where a couple of times it went off Din with his leg and the ball that went out of bounce, so it's not like the stop that you think of in the truest sense, or they just locked up a guy and forced to miss. It came in a number of ways, and you know,
it's funny. I used to say about different defenses by way of example, when Tom Thibodeau was the Bulls coach and their defense was just so taunt like every dribble, every pass was contested. You barely you had a fight for every square inch out there on the court. Well, to your point, with Ben and Matist, that's what it's like.
I mean there, they're right there and it's just so difficult, and they're leaving off one man and helping and you know it, And that's that's just for a team to be able to to maintain possession, let alone try to execute what they're out there trying to implement. So that's great. And then obviously when Joel's out there, you got a premier, premier rim protector. And you know, to Ben's point about Horford, he had that block on Jared Allen that was telling.
Not only did he block it without falling, you know, it went off of Allan's shoulder, and that was another player where the Sixers got the ball. So the defense was terrific. I mean, they gave up one hundred and eleven points, but only twenty in the fourth and they really throttled Brooklyn with how they guarded down the stretch. Andy Sixers over the nets by the score of one seventeen to one to eleven at Barclays Center. It's on
to Toronto on Wednesday. Should be a great matchup of course between those two teams, but also given some of the stakes that are now in play, and why don't we leave it on this note, Tom Ben Simmons Eastern Conference Player of the Week. We spoke kind of microcosmically, if that's even a word, about his role getting the Sixers turned around today. But just what have you seen from him lately? He's playing for everything that is said about him. He's playing at such an impactful level for
this team right now. Oh really, And somebody who's asking coach questions that you know they have like a the interrogation is such that it's kind of a slight with Ben with the way the questions asked, and he's like jeez, And then coach goes speaking of overdrive, goes into overdrive, saying, yeah, sometimes I think you guys are reading it wrong. And
how about that? You know, like the guy was dominant, just took over the game, and you just see a swagger, and honestly, I think he plays a little bit different. He's got more on his plate without Jewel, and it's just it's totally his team. And I don't this probably shouldn't come from me, but it's just evident how much more confident and how he's able to play out there.
He just totally takes over. Uh. And it's just you know, you saw that earlier in the year and one of the games that Joel missed, that that unbelievable game that that Ben had. I believe he had a triple double in that game to the Cleveland game. And it's just
a different, different, you know, role for him. Like again, like, if if it beats playing Ben Simmons, isn't playing the five, They're going to that because that options there a because he can do it because he's so big and as he says, he's a lot faster than the bigger players. But if it beats out there, you're not You're not doing that with with Joel and beat in the game. So it just he impacts the game so many ways.
But again, he loves defense and that that to see from one of your leaders, that's infectious across the board and just attacking. You. Look at the field goals in this game, I think to your point, he only made miss two and then he missed two free to early, So that tells me he made close to double digit free throws in a row to close out the game. And that's certainly an area that has been maybe a concern just statistically throughout the course of his brief career.
But he just was so impressive and it's fun to watch. Like I said, you know, let's let's not forget the talents of these players are what we're all. That's what everything's built their own. And he's so talented and to watch that to be it's like a treat to be able to watch a guy that skilled and do what he did, and he was he was by far the best player out there today. Send the man in Chicago for the All Star Game. Final day to vote today
until eleven fifty nine Eastern. Tom will talk again on Wednesday. Seventy six Ers and the Raptors at Scotia Bank Arena. Okay, thanks, good night, Bran. Seventy Sixers and the Brooklyn Nets matched up for the second time in less than a week. The seventy sixers are going to duplicate the result from the first meeting, which was a win last Wednesday night at the Center. Sixers early on today got a quick start, thanks too in part to buy Harris. Brooklyn comes out
in his zone two three zone. That's changed their fourth possession all of a sudden their play zone, but they don't guard hear us out top and he makes them pay with a three from outfront. Good job by the Sixers. Tive I'm on the friar wing back out front at Tobias Harris now with his second three seventy six was let at that point ten to five. They trailed by three twenty nine. I big a part in thirty two to twenty nine after one quarter of play. In the
second the Sixers we're facing an uphill climb. Ben Simmons was responsible for trying to pull them back closer and Simmons on the drives exactly around one man. It gets the right hand lamp. What a play Jock Richardson jumping back and forth, not unlike what Joel would be did a couple of years ago. At that point, the seventy Sixers trailed fifty eight to fifty three. They were down by four sixty eight sixty four heading into the half.
In the third quarter of the Sixers rolled with a different lineup as Ben Simmons started to play a little bit more time at center to end the third period of play for the final three minutes and change for that Tobias Harris was one of the guys who helped light a spark for the Sixers to the corner. Josh Richardson for three, no good rebound. Ben Simmons back out to Tobias He's open, sidesteps to run by and nails it on a three point field goal as Jared Allen
flew by. So the Sixers get it three and they forced Brooklyn into a timeout that cut the seventy six or deficit to six seventy nine seventy three. Ben Simmons showing how he could flex some muscle at the end of the third and Laverne and Thybill knocks it away to steal. Simmons had a hand out of it as well, detto with a bowl howl with an outside left forty seconds to go in the third, Brooklyn by five. Howell on the move against Claxton Stop slobs at Simmons with
a one hand tap for two. Ben Simmons is dominating this late section here. Up the third quarter, seventy Sixers got one more basket to make it a ninety game. They were down by just a point going into the fourth. The Sixers kept on rolling their defense, clamping down and late in the game it was Al Horford Hill put this thing away. Ben Simmons with it, drive it, Benny, I'll top ol Hartford for three. It's good. Hal Harford notches a triple and the Sixers go up by four.
Ben Simmons with his twelfth assist one O eight, one oh four. The seventy Sixers leading at that standpoint of the game, and they would turn to a guy who's been really sharp from outside the ark to help ra at this one. Al Horford into Ben back out the cork Bos in the corner. Josh cork Boss has it, shoots at three bowl it's good for God. Cork Boss back to three and the Sixers by five. They moved
it around the perimeter. He struggled this afternoon, but for the third straight game he comes up large one thirteen, one o eight. At that point in the seventy Sixers would hang on for a six point win. One is seventeen to one e eleven. Looking at some of the final notes from the final statuet, the seventy Sixers shot forty four and a half percent collectively Brooklyn forty eight percent to seventy sixers had thirteen threes for Brooklyn. The
Sixers on the glass were out rebounded by four. That was an area where when Brooklyn got up by as much as twelve in this game, they really had a lot of success, but the seventy sixers, they were huge on the defensive end. As I said, only thirteen turnovers committed by the Sixers twenty two was how many they forced on the Brooklyn Nets. Ben Simmons virtuous, Virtuo is stick, virtuostick, whatever,
he was, virtuous something like that. Thirty four points, twelve rebounds, twelve assists, five steals for Ben Simmons in just under forty three minutes of play. Al Horford another big game for him, nineteen points, six rebounds, two assists. Say what you want. Al Horford has come up with some really clutch plays over the course of this four game winning
streak for the Sixers. Tobias Harris was five of seventeen from the field, fifteen points for him to go with six rebounds and fifteen points for Josh Richardson ten for fur Con Corkmas twenty two for Spencer Dinwodi to lead the Brooklyn Net seventy six Ers win their fourth straight second in a row on the road. They are now twenty nine and sixteen and they will take on the division leading third place in the Eastern Conference Toronto Raptors
on Wednesday night. That should be a great game. The seventy Sixers trail by just a game and the standing so hey. Should they make it five in a row on the s winning streak, they will force a tie for first in the division and third in the East. You've been listening to Rewind, look out for fresh episodes of the Day after every seventy Sixers game this season.