Kevin Durant: 'Felt Good to Quiet' 76ers Fans Who Booed Ben Simmons in Nets' Win
Philadelphia 76ers fans may have had their fun booing Ben Simmons before Thursday's game, but the on-court action belonged to the Brooklyn Nets in a blowout 129-100 victory.
Kevin Durant said during a postgame interview: "It just felt good to quiet all of them down midway through the game. It was very quiet towards the end. We ain't hear no more Ben Simmons chants from the Sixers fans."
He also told reporters, "It was a good environment to start—it didn't finish that way."
This was the first matchup between the two teams since the trade that sent Simmons to Brooklyn and James Harden to Philadelphia. It was one of the most highly anticipated games of the season between title contenders in the loaded Eastern Conference with plenty of high-profile players.
Yet the Nets made quick work of things on the road.
Durant spearheaded the effort with a double-double of 25 points and 14 rebounds, along with seven assists and two steals. Philadelphia had no answer for his ability to rise over defenders and unleash his shots, and Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry were right there to take advantage of the spacing whenever Durant drew extra attention.
Irving finished with 22 points and five assists, while Curry added 24 points and five steals. They hit a combined nine three-pointers in a game that was never in doubt.
While Philadelphia's defense was nonexistent, it also didn't help that Joel Embiid and James Harden were ice cold on the offensive end. They combined to shoot an ugly 8-of-34 from the field, and the only positive from either on the offensive end was that Embiid had 19 free-throw attempts.
The story was the reception for Simmons coming into the game, but it became how scary the Nets looked after it.
Some top seed in the Eastern Conference will likely be stuck with a first-round matchup against the firepower of Brooklyn considering Durant and Co. are in eighth place in the standings. Yet Thursday's showing suggested the Nets could go from the play-in tournament to the championship, and Simmons hasn't even played yet.
They could quiet a lot of opposing crowds in the playoffs.
