Joel Embiid led the way for the Philadelphia 76ers with 36 points in a 113-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks – but it was Ben Simmons post-game comments that caused a stir.
Simmons had eight points, seven assists and six rebounds from 24 minutes but media attention quickly turned to Philadelphia’s next match-up – the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets are the Sixers’ biggest threat in the Eastern Conference but Simmons is not convinced.
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He took a dig at the Brooklyn Nets post-game for their deficiencies on the defensive end.
“We’re going for the past champs, the Lakers” he said.
“They were the ones who won a championship, so you got to give the respect to them. Obviously Brooklyn has a lot of talent. But at the end of the day, there’s only one ball and you gotta play defense too.”
The Nets were stunned 126-101 by the Lakers last week, despite the defending champions missing their top four scorers.
For all their firepower on the offensive end, Brooklyn went into the Lakers clash ranking a disappointing 25th in defensive efficiency, although they rank 14th since the All-Star break.
The three-time All-Star also set himself a very clear personal goal, adding: “I want to be the clear cut best defender in the league. I don’t want to be second or third.”
STEPH MAKES HISTORY FOR WARRIORS AS MURRAY GOES DOWN
Steph Curry is officially the Golden State Warriors’ most prolific scorer after a fast start in the opening quarter against the Denver Nuggets.
Wilt Chamberlain’s franchise record of 17,783 has stood since 1964 but was broken by Curry, who scored 21 points in the first 12 minutes.
Curry ended with 53 points in a 116-107 win that was marred by a potentially-serious late injury to Nuggets star Jamal Murray.
Murray went down in the final minute of the game after sustaining what looked like a left knee injury. His knee buckled inward as he attempted a late layup attempt and there are fears it could be season-ending.
It soured otherwise what was a celebration for the Warriors and Curry, with the points-scoring record the latest achievement in Curry’s accomplished career, already a two-time NBA MVP and three-time NBA champion.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr has been able to watch Curry track down the record since 2014 and spoke of the 33-year old’s transformative impact on the game of basketball.
“It’s just an incredible feat,” Kerr said before.
“Passing Wilt in anything statistically is sort of remarkable because his name is all over the record books. So the fact that Steph is about to break that record is just incredible and obviously a testament to what he’s done here in his 12 years and impact he’s made.
“I don’t know if breaking that record even tells the story because what Steph brings goes so far beyond points. It’s the impact on his teammates, the community, the organization, the style of play, just how unique he is.
“As an individual, he has changed the game, inspired all the young NBA point guards who have come up to be much better shooters. He has changed the game, so as awesome as this accomplishment is, passing Wilt, it’s just one of many for Steph.”
Curry himself spoke to ESPN after their loss to the Atlanta Hawks last week as he reflected about being on the verge of passing the record, describing it as “surreal.”
“[Chamberlain has] got a lot of buckets,” he said.
“Obviously he’s a legend and remains [one] across the whole league, but obviously wearing a Warriors uniform and having been here my whole career, it’s pretty crazy.
“So I got a couple more points to score — hopefully some more wins in the process — but it is just a wild thought in general.
“To know where it started out and all that’s happened over the course of my career … that is a pretty significant milestone.”
LAKERS STUMBLE AFTER NETS DEMOLITION
It was too much Julius Randle and too much Knicks defense for the Lakers to handle.
The Lakers (33-21) are statistically the No. 1 defense in the NBA — based on the all-important defensive efficiency number regarding points per 100 possessions. But Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks showed the Lakers Monday at the Garden that sometimes numbers can lie.
Yes, this is Lakers Lite but Randle racked up 34 points and the Knicks’ crushing defense stymied the gold-clad defending champions in a 111-96 victory. It was the Knicks’ third straight victory to boost their record to 28-27.
The Lakers, on the other hand, failed to back up their last-start 126-101 demolition of Brooklyn.
Randle punished his former team on a night RJ Barrett’s hot streak ended. Randle, who played four seasons for the Lakers and left when LeBron James arrived, shot 13 of 23. Randle said before the game he “always’’ gets up for the Lakers.
Barrett was scoreless in the first half and finished with just seven points, going 2 of 11.
The Lakers are still without injured Anthony Davis and James, who could be gone for another three weeks. But the Knicks notched 14 steals and centers Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson combined for five blocks.
The already battered Lakers were playing with ailing point guard Denis Schroder, who will be a free agent this summer. Despite a pelvis injury, a hobbled Schroder racked up 16 points in the half with his dribble penetration and finished with 21 points.