Ben Simmons Posted His First Playoff Triple-Double in a Game 4 Win Over the Heat

SteemSports Preseter: @dwin0603
SteemSports Editor: @theprophet0

The Philadelphia 76ers outlasted the Miami heat and took a 3-1 series lead on Saturday night. They are 1 win away from eliminating Miami and move on to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. Ben Simmons recorded a triple-double of 17 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 steals. He shot the ball effectively, making 8 of his 13 attempts. Simmons had the first playoff triple-double by a rookie in 40 years. Sharp shooter JJ Redick led the Sixers in scoring. He finished with 24 points, 3 assists and 3 steals. All-star center Joel Embiid added a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds, also anchoring the Sixers’ defense with 5 blocked shots. Meanwhile, Robert Covington and Marco Belinelli each scored 10 points while Dario Saric finished the game with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Philadelphia dominated the boards, 57-43 including 17 offensive rebounds. They finished the game with a total of 27 turnovers.

Dwayne Wade led the Heat with 25 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals off the bench. Goran Dragic added 20 points, 3 assists and 4 steals while James Johnson had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Center Hassan Whiteside had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds with 1 blocked shot. Josh Richardson finished the game with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 7 steals and 1 block. Richardson posted a playoff record 7 steals. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James were the only other Heat players with 6 steals in a playoff game.

A heated scene happened in the second quarter when Dario Saric lost the ball and four players wound up on the floor as they went for the loose ball. Josh Richardson had a left shoulder bruise as he was slammed to the floor by Joel Embiid. He stayed down for a minute before going straight to Miami’s locker room. He went back in the second half. Justice Winslow needed stitches to close a wound over his left eye while Tyler Johnson played with a bandage on his left thumb he injured in Game 3. All attention was on the other end, where Goran Dragic was shoved by Robert Covington and James Johnson immediately came for the rescue and went towards Covington but Simmons came in for a few words. Miami led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter but easily collapse. Miami went 5 minutes without scoring, and the Sixers rally with a 14-0 run that put Philadelphia up 87-83. The Sixers controlled the game since then and never trail again. Game 5 is on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.

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