In a game that exceeded the hype, Ben Simmons topped LeBron James in a triple-double battle to lead the Philadelphia 76ers past the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-130.
Simmons finished with 27 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists, while James collected 44 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds, bringing the Cavaliers to the brink of an epic comeback after trailing by as many as 30 points in the first half.
Per Elias, this is the third time in NBA history a player had a 40+ point triple-double and an opposing player had a 25+ point triple-double in the same game.
Nov. 8. 1961 — Jerry West (42 points) vs. Bob Pettit (28)
Feb 23, 2003 — Tracy McGrady (46) vs. Jason Kidd (26)
April 4, 2018 — LeBron James (44) vs. Ben Simmons (27)
• Highlights: LeBron James | Ben Simmons
A few more statistical nuggets from an instant classic:
• The Simmons-James duel was the second game in NBA history featuring opposing triple-doubles between No. 1 overall picks. The previous instance involved Magic Johnson and Mychal Thompson on April 5, 1983.
• James became the seventh player in NBA history — and the youngest at 33 years, 97 days — to score 31,000 career points.
• James also passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for fifth all time with his 430th game with 30 or more points. He now trails only Kobe Bryant (431), Karl Malone (435), Wilt Chamberlain (515) and Michael Jordan (562).
• The Sixers extended their winning streak to 13 games, representing the franchise’s longest streak since the 1984-85 season (also 13 games).
• The 78 first-half points were the most the Sixers had scored in any half since pouring in 80 on Feb. 11, 1992 at Miami.
