Ben Simmons spoke Friday morning about not wavering from his on-court persona in wake of Joel Embiid's absence.
Then the 76ers point guard turned Friday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks into his personal playground. Simmons notched his 11th triple-double as the Sixers rolled to a 101-91 victory at Phillips Arena in Atlanta.
Simmons rolled to 13 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists in 26 minutes, 30 seconds. He had the triple-double secured midway through the third quarter. Simmons picked up his 10th assist while finding Richaun Holmes for a dunk with 5 minutes, 5 seconds remaining in the quarter. At that time, he already had 13 points and 12 rebounds. As a result, his triple-double was secured in fewer than 25 minutes.
This was the Sixers' first game since Embiid suffered a concussion and a fractured orbital bone and in his left eye. The all-star center is expected to be sidelined two to four weeks.
But after a closer than expected start, the Sixers (45-30) didn't miss a beat without him.
Simmons and starters JJ Redick and Amir Johnson, who got the nod in Embiid's absence, all sat out the fourth quarter. The Sixers other two starters -Robert Covington and Dario Saric _ played briefly in the final frame.
Friday's victory extended their winning streak to nine games for the first time since Feb. 12-March 3, 2003. Back then Larry Brown was the Sixers' coach and Hall of Famer Allen Iverson was their star player. The team was also two seasons removed from an NBA Finals' appearance.
The Sixers broke this game open against the Eastern Conference's last-place Hawks (21-55) in the third quarter.
That's when they held a 39-18 scoring advantage while shooting 69.6 percent from the field and 66.7 percent on 3-pointers (6 of 9). Redick scored 11 of his 19 points in the quarter on 5-of-6 shooting. Meanwhile, Simmons compiled five rebounds and four assists in the quarter.
After leading by six points at the half, the Sixers opened up a 27-point cushion on Redick's 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds left in the quarter.
Ersan Ilyasova finished with game highs of 21 points and 16 rebounds off the bench. Covington (10 points) and reserves Marco Belinelli (11) and Markelle Fultz (10) were the Sixers' other double-figure scorers.
This was Fultz's best shooting game in his three games back after missing 68 games. The first-overall pick in June's draft went 4-for-8 from the field and had a highlight reel dunk over Damion Lee.
This matchup was a homecoming from Ilyasova and Belinelli. The Hawks waived them after last February's trade deadline.
Ilyasova played like he wanted everyone in Atlanta to know Phillips Arena was still his house.
He replaced Covington with Sixers down 12-11 with 6 minutes, 57 seconds left in the first quarter.
After missing his first basket, he scored seven straight points for the Sixers on his next three shot attempts. That gave them a 21-20 advantage. Then after the team's traded basket, his turnaround jumper with 2:24 left in the game gave his squad a 25-22 lead.
Ilyasova finished the quarter with 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting to go with five rebounds and one block in 6:57.
The Hawks have eight rookies and four second-year players on their roster. Atlanta was without Dennis Schroder (left ankle sprain) and Kent Bazemore (right knee bone bruise).
