Ben Simmons was flipped onto his upper back, slapped on the back of his head, pushed, prodded, and pulled in the 76ersâ 104-91 Game 5 victory over the Miami Heat.
More Sixers coverage
But Simmons knew this game was going to be a dogfight and was locked in long before the game started.
In the locker room, an hour before tipoff, Simmons was peppered with questions about rapper Meek Millâs release from prison and the possibility of Mill attending the game. Simmons, a longtime supporter of Mill, entertained the first couple of questions, but that was all the time he had for anything not game-related.
âLetâs talk ball,â Simmons said, brushing off the Mill questions that kept coming.
He knew, just as everyone did, that Game 5 of the best-of-seven series was going to be the toughest test for the Sixers, and he didnât want to, as teammate Justin Anderson put it, âget drunk on all the excitement.â
Simmons was ready for battle and it showed as he posted 14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and one block.
Less than two minutes had passed in the game when Miamiâs Josh Richardson went underneath Simmons as he rose up on a drive to the basket. Richardson clipped Simmonsâ feet and sent the point guard to the floor, where he landed on his upper back. But Simmons bounced up, seemingly unfazed.
âThat is the playoffs, itâs a snapshot of what will always be the playoffs and itâs only going to get harder,â Sixers coach Brett Brown said of the physical nature of the game.
Ben Simmons takes a scary fall and pops up right away. pic.twitter.com/4LTnutpqi7
â RealGM (@RealGM) April 25, 2018
The Heat were clear in their intentions to rattle Simmons and limit the rookieâs production, but try as they might, they couldnât stop the leading rookie-of-the-year candidate from getting where he wanted. He went 4 of 5 from the free-throw line in the first half while notching 10 points.
With 9:32 left in the third quarter, Simmons stole the ball and was heading down the floor on a fastbreak when he was fouled by Goran Dragic. Without skipping a beat, Dragic then reached up and slapped the back of Simmonsâ head, earning a technical foul.
Feel like that's not really allowed.
Dragic with a slap to Simmons' head as tensions heat up at Wells Fargo Center. He is issued a technical. pic.twitter.com/JWdeJSZFhx
â NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 25, 2018
But, as always, no matter how many times he was fouled, Simmons kept his cool and remained unrattled, and his calm demeanor permeated through the rest of the team. It wasnât just Simmons who was bumped, bruised, and pushed over, and the fouls just continued to mount for the Miami squad on the brink of elimination.
âThere were at least four incidents that you could have done something that you regretted,â Brown said. âThere could have been ejections, there could have been things that would have had repercussions. ⦠Trying to hold our composure, itâs hard in general, let alone for young guys.â
Tyler Johnson, one of many who fouled Simmons, fouled out of the game after grabbing the arm of Marco Belinelli. James Johnson, who also had a technical foul issued to him during the game, was called for his fifth foul with just over four minutes left to play, and the other three Heat starters had three fouls apiece.
Miami finished the night with 32 fouls to the Sixersâ 20, and were bounced out of the playoffs while Simmons and the Sixers will play the winner of the Boston Celtics-Milwaukee Bucks series in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
More Coverage
- POLL: Could the 76ers win this series without Joel Embiid?
- BUY: Fultz Jerseys & 76ers gear
- Get the latest Sixers news with the FREE Philly Sports Now app for iPhone and Android
Comment policy:
Philly.com comments are intended to be civil, friendly conversations. Please treat other participants with respect and in a way that you would want to be treated. You are responsible for what you say. And please, stay on topic. If you see an objectionable post, please report it to us using the "Report Abuse" option.
Please note that comments are monitored by Philly.com staff. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable. Personal attacks, especially on other participants, are not permitted. We reserve the right to permanently block any user who violates these terms and conditions.
Additionally comments that are long, have multiple paragraph breaks, include code, or include hyperlinks may not be posted.