“It’s hard to chant for Ben Simmons when you’re losing by that much”: Kevin Durant goes at Philly fans following blowout Nets win over Sixers 

Kevin Durant stands up for Ben Simmons following the Nets win over the Sixers and says it’s hard to chant his name when losing by a lot. 

As Kevin Durant said in his postgame presser, walking into Philadelphia last night was like walking into a hostile environment. The amount of scrutiny Ben Simmons has faced for nearly a year by 76ers fans for not owning up to his abysmal play in the Atlanta series has followed him all the way to Brooklyn and last night, back to Philly. 

Of course, due to mental health issues coupled with a bad back, Simmons did not suit up to take on James Harden and company at Wells Fargo. Despite the Nets not having their All-NBA caliber defensive savant, they would go on to blow out the 76ers by 29 points with a final score of 129-100.

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Animosity between these two teams was quite evident all night long as Kevin Durant didn’t greet James Harden while Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons did not greet each as well.  

Embiid and Durant would get into on the court as well after the former hit him with a hard shoulder, causing him to tumble to the ground. 

Kevin Durant on the Ben Simmons chants dying out as the game went on. 

The Brooklyn Nets couldn’t have hoped for a better evening as not only did they blow out James Harden’s 76ers, they did so in a way that resulted in Philly fans not chanting Ben Simmons’ name, essentially, shutting them up. 

Kevin Durant addressed this on his on-court interview as well as his postgame interview so here’s both those quotes combined: 

“It was very quiet towards the end. We ain’t hear no more Ben Simmons chants from the Sixers fans. We look at Ben as our brother and we knew that this was a hostile environment. We knew he didn’t have an opportunity to play so we had to come out there and have them focus on the court instead of focusing on him. It’s hard for you to chant at Ben Simmons when you’re losing by that much.” 

Also read: “I would be disappointed and shocked if the Sixers paid Ben Simmons a tribute video”: Charles Barkley believes the former Sixers guard deserves no welcoming for disrespecting the fans in Philadelphia

It’s highly unlikely that Ben Simmons will suit up for the Nets before the Playoffs begin. Almost every single NBA fan is hoping for a Brooklyn Nets-Philadelphia 76ers postseason matchup due ot the drama surrounding it. 

With the Sixers the 3rd seed and the Nets going to be either the 7th or the 8th (barring a play-in elimination), the two teams won’t face each other until the second round at the bare minimum.