INDIANAPOLIS -- The Philadelphia 76ers have been waiting for this type of game from Anfernee Simons. One of the team's many big free agent additions, Simons has gotten off to a tough start shooting the ball as he shot just 5-for-21 from deep over the team's first four games of the season.
However, Simons finally found his rhythm in Wednesday's 114-109 win over the Indiana Pacers. The 9-year veteran shot 6-for-10 from deep, 7-for-11 overall, and scored 20 big points off the bench for the Sixers. They needed every single one of those 3s and it was good for the team to see a guy like him finally break through and have his moment for Philadelphia.
"I think it was really great," said coach Nick Nurse. "I think that we certainly needed his shooting.
I think we made some nice reads and found some places to put him. We found some good ways for him to space the floor and he knocked it down. He's a really good shooter. Every time he shoots it, you think it's going in, and that's always a good thing to have on your team."
The 3-point shooting has been a bit off for Philadelphia. The Sixers entered the contest ranking 22nd in the league in 3-point shooting percentage at just 31.7% as a team per ESPN's stats. Having Simons break out against the Pacers has to be something that jump starts this group as it continues to move forward as a team.
"Obviously, we need him," Joel Embiid added of Simons. "We don’t shoot enough 3s right now. I think I might just give up on shooting 3s myself. Can't make any as a team. We shot pretty good tonight, but overall, since the season started, it just hasn't been it. Starting with me, so yeah, I quit. But it's good to have Anfernee. That's one of the main things that he does."
Maybe it was the team's effort to get him going at morning shootaround that allowed Simons to get going. The Sixers made an effort to get him the ball and allow him to touch the rock and get a feel for it. Maybe that was the secret of getting their sharpshooter going and break out of his slump.
"He was huge, man," Tyrese Maxey said. "He was huge. At shootaround today we passed the ball to him a lot over and over and over again to tell him to shoot, shoot, shoot, because we really want him to shoot. Really need his shooting and his scoring for our team to be successful."
The Sixers will play host to the New York Knicks in their NBA Cup opener on Friday.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Multiple Sixers single out Anfernee Simons after road win over Pacers
