The Philadelphia 76ers got a little healthier on Monday night as Ben Simmons returned to the floor after missing four games due to a non-COVID illness that kept him out for four games. He made an immediate impact on the floor in helping the Sixers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-90.
Simmons’ stat line only read 12 points and four assists, but his impact on the floor was clearly seen. The first offensive possession of the game, he pushed the ball in transition and he found Furkan Korkmaz for an open look and he later found Seth Curry for an open triple. They really needed his presence in this one.
“I thought he was great,” said coach Doc Rivers. “The first played a game we got 3. It was created by Ben Simmons, so I think he was really good. I thought defensively, he was even better. You can see he had his legs, he had great energy so that was good. Good team win. We needed to win that one.”
Simmons did reveal that the illness he was dealing with was not the flu as Rivers initially thought. It was more of a viral condition that bothered him.
“The doctors diagnosed it as a viral thing that was going to take a few days to get over,” Simmons explained after the win. “I’m thankful I’m back out here playing.”
The only thing the All-Star guard was worried about was his stamina. Whenever somebody is sick with something like a cold or a virus, it can affect one’s conditioning and that is when he has to be able to continue working hard and get over that.
“I was trying to get on that peloton as much as I could to make sure my cardio was fine,” he stated. “I didn’t have any issues. My cardio was just my biggest worry.”
At the end of the day, Simmons being back out on the floor is a big lift for this team. He is the one who makes things much easier on the offensive end for Philadelphia to flow and they were able to do so in a big way on Monday.
“I’m just glad to be back, honestly,” he finished. “I missed being with the fellas. Especially to be able to come here and get the win tonight, which was great. Everyone played their role. Everyone was doing their thing.”
The Sixers will now get ready for two straight games with the Atlanta Hawks beginning on Wednesday.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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