Ben Simmons stuffed the stat sheet for the Philadelphia 76ers, but it wasn't enough as they fell 130-115 to the Portland Trail Blazers at home.
Simmons led the way with 29 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, while Tobias Harris added 20 points and Jimmy Butler 15, but without All-Star big man Joel Embiid, Philly struggled inside as the Blazers scored 66 points in the paint.
🇦🇺 @BenSimmons25 stuffed the stat sheet as the @sixers fall to the @trailblazers 130-115 at home #HereTheyCome
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) February 23, 2019
📊 29 PTS | 10 AST | 7 REB pic.twitter.com/MDNQjwtRxf
Jusuf Nurkic records 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Damian Lillard had 17 points and Enes Kanter chipped in 16 off the bench in just his second game with his new team, who have now won their past three games.
With Embiid sidelined with a knee injury, Portland controlled the game on the glass, outrebounding the 76ers 53-33, with seven different players grabbing 5+ boards. That was the theme of the night for the Blazers who got contributions all the way down the roster with seven players scoring in double figures on the night.
"As a team collectively, we just didn’t rebound well enough against a team like this," Ben Simmons said post-game." It’s a group effort rebounding I think just all of us combined, I don’t think we did enough. Obviously, we didn’t do it."
After taking 59-56 lead into the half-time break, Portland took control of the game in the third, with a monster 41-point period. They started the third on a 17-6 run, throwing down dunk after dunk to extend the lead to 76-62, keeping their foot on the gas to take a 100-82 lead into the fourth.
Welcome to the Moe Show. pic.twitter.com/BqwxN3yx62
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) February 23, 2019
The 76ers never got close in the fourth quarter as they fell to 24-8 at home, (38-22 overall), while the Blazers move to 36-23 on the season, staying in fourth place in the Western Confernce Standings.
The Blazers are back in action Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the 76ers visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.
