Sixers' Ben Simmons Reacts to Getting Knocked Over by Facundo Campazzo
The Philadelphia 76ers didn't play their best four quarters of basketball on Tuesday night against the Denver Nuggets. As they geared up for the matchup that became their fifth-straight road game, the 76ers admittedly came out flat.
In the first quarter alone, the Sixers gave up 44 points to Denver and were already down 22 points in the first 12 minutes of action.
There was a lot of talk about regarding the Nuggets' dominant opening quarter on Tuesday night. Still, the high-percentage shooting and high-powered scoring quickly became an old topic as everybody switched gears and wanted to talk about Facundo Campazzo knocking over Sixers star Ben Simmons.
Midway through the second quarter, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey was getting pressed by Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo. As Maxey ran around to avoid Campazzo, his teammate Ben Simmons set up a pick so he could shake the defender and get the ball across half-court.
Campazzo not only didn't back down from Simmons, but he brought a lot of juice as the two made contact, and a little extra shove sent Simmons to the floor. Campazzo's actions probably should've been a foul call, but the whistles were silent.
Foul or not, social media couldn't stop talking about the five-foot-ten guard who trucked the much larger Ben Simmons. After the game, Simmons laughed it off. While he did say that one of the referees admitted at halftime that Campazzo should've been whistled for a foul, Simmons shrugged it off. However, Simmons did argue that if whistles are going to be silent when guys play physical against him, he expects it to be the same if the roles are reversed.
"I don't think too much of [the play]," Simmons said after the game. "I mean, it is what it is. He's a feisty little mother. . . He's a feisty little guy. But I like that -- I like when guys are rough and physical. At the same time, if (the refs) are going to let them be physical, they gotta let us be physical because if you're gonna let me be physical with somebody like that, it's not going to end right."
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.
