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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Charlie Wilson

Ben Simmons sends subtle jab to former team as Philadelphia 76ers eliminated from playoffs

NBA star Ben Simmons has irritated fans of his former team after he posted an image of himself enjoying their loss last night as the Boston Celtics dominated them in a season-defining game.

There's no love lost between Simmons and the Sixers, after the point guard left the team after five seasons in ugly fashion - when he asked to be traded before refusing to play in games.

The Sixers did not agree on a trade for him throughout the summer of 2021, and he refused to play in games the following season and was repeatedly fined. Simmons had then accused the Sixers for 'not helping' when he had gone through mental struggles, and stated that he told head coach Doc Rivers that he was not ready to play.

After months of back and forth, Simmons was finally traded for James Harden - who mightily struggled in Sunday night's defeat.

Simmons, who doesn't regularly post on his social media, posted an image in his house watching the game in the dying moments - when the Celtics were up with a big lead - accompanied by a glass of red wine, hinting he was enjoying what he was seeing.

It was a bitterly disappointing end as the Celtics defeated them by 24 points in game seven to close out the series.

Simmons finally returned to play this season, after being traded to the Brooklyn Nets (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

It looked to be a close game at half-time with the C's up just three points while Harden and Joel Embiid had struggled in the first.

But in the second-half, the Sixers duo were nowhere to be seen as the Celtics completely blew them out of the water outscoring them by 33-10 in the third quarter.

The league MVP, Embiid was held to just 17 points while Harden scored just nine.

Throughout the game, it was Tatum who stole the show with a game 7 record 51 points to advance the Celtics through to the Eastern conference finals - where they will rematch the Miami Heat.

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