Ben Simmons had his best game for the Brooklyn Nets in a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. Simmons finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in 32 minutes off the Brooklyn bench.
Following his 6-for-6 shooting performance, Simmons told the media that he's just getting started.
"I'm coming," Simmons said. "I'm getting there, man. It's taking a little bit of time, but I got my own back. My teammates got my back, my coaches."
Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn had praise for Simmons' effort off the bench, especially Simmons' versatile defense.
"It's very encouraging," Vaughn said of Simmons' performance. "Most minutes he's played, really responded well. ... Kind of what we envisioned him doing everything for us. The defensive versatility of guarding [Jusuf] Nurkic and also Damian Lillard. A lot of people can't do that. And we can continue to grow with him and understand him, his game, how he benefits, with who. It's very encouraging."