Ben Simmons has shown no mercy to Melbourne United, putting on a show in the Philadelphia 76ers' 104-86 demolition of the visiting Australians.
The teams began this year's NBA-NBL exhibition experiment in Philadelphia on Saturday (NZ time).
Melbourne-born 76ers star Simmons performed spectacular passes, dunks and athletic defensive plays in falling just short of a triple-double, despite only playing 26 minutes.
Simmons, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, had eight points, eight rebounds and 14 assists, including one spectacular play where he passed the ball off the backboard to himself and then flicked it to teammate Markelle Fultz for an easy basket.
United, the reigning Australian NBL champions, had an injury scare late in the second quarter, when shooting guard Chris Goulding had an open shot under the basket, until 76ers' All-Star centre Joel Embiid launched his massive body at the Australian.
Boomers reprentative Goulding crashed to the floor, grabbed his leg and then limped off to the locker room.
Early reports suggested the injury, to his left ankle, was not serious.
Former NZ Breakers centre Alex Pledger top-scored for Melbourne with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Goulding had 13 points, despite missing five of his six three-point attempts, from his shortened 19-minute stint.
The game was the first of several NBA-NBL clashes over the coming week.
The Perth Wildcats face the Utah Jazz, featuring Aussies Joe Ingles and Dante Exum, on Sunday (NZ time) in Salt Lake City.
Later in the week, Andrew Bogut returns to the NBA, with his Sydney Kings playing the Los Angeles Clippers in Hawaii, the Phoenix Suns host the New Zealand Breakers, Melbourne moves north to play the Toronto Raptors, Perth Wildcats take on the Denver Nuggets and the Adelaide 36ers also face the Jazz.
AAP
Join us at 3pm Thursday for live updates of the NZ Breakers vs Phoenix Suns pre-season clash.
