NBA News - Simmons hurt in first NBA clash with James

Ben Simmons has suffered an ankle injury in his much-anticipated first NBA clash with mentor LeBron James. James' Cleveland Cavaliers crushed Simmons' Philadelphia 76ers 113-91 in Philadelphia on Monday. The Cavaliers dominated most of the game and led by 12 points going into the final quarter, with James ending with 30 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. The arduous NBA season appears to be taking a toll on Simmons.

An elbow injury forced the Australian rookie to miss the 76ers' game on Saturday against the Orlando Magic and with five minutes to go against the Cavs he was forced to the locker room with a sprained right ankle. The 21-year-old from Melbourne, who was given the defensive assignment on James, went scoreless in the second and third quarters and had a below average 10 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Simmons was averaging 18.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists heading into the game.

Plenty of hype preceded the match-up, with James the four-time NBA MVP, and Simmons considered a future superstar of the sport, going head-to-head in an NBA game for the first time. James took Simmons under his wing in 2014 when the then 17-year-old attended the LeBron James Skills Academy in Las Vegas and two years later Simmons signed with James' management company Klutch Sports Group.

The physically-gifted, 208cm tall, Simmons, whose speed and exceptional passing skills allow him to play point guard, has been compared to the 203cm tall James, who has similar attributes. The 76ers' centre Joel Embiid was strong with 30 points and 11 rebounds, but lacked the usual support from Simmons and reliable scorers Robert Covington and Dario Saric who had just two and eight points respectively.

The 76ers connected with just 36 of their 96 field goal attempts, including missing 25 of their 28 three-point shots.