Brett Brown on Ben Simmons: 'He's 22 years old'

Mike Scott was a plus-29 and shot 4-5 with three three's off of the bench. Jimmy Butler was incredible again, especially in the first half, finishing the game with 25 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Joel Embiid was dominant on defense, finishing as a preposterous plus-40! 

Related: Sixers crush Raptors, force Game 7

But Ben Simmons was the Sixers' Game 6 bell ringer, and for good reason.

After being held in check for most of the series by NBA superstar Kawhi Leonard, Simmons exploded for 21 points (9-13 FG), eight rebounds, six assists, and no turnovers. 

"He's 22 years old," Brett Brown said of Simmons after the Sixers' 112-101 win on Thursday night.

"And his game, as he grows his shot and tries to get a better command of his position, and deals with the stage of the NBA Playoffs. Shame on us for thinking like he's going to be all day, every day, here he is and he's just going to go knock it out of the park. It's just not fair. So, what he did today was lots of the reasons he was an NBA All-Star at age 22, as an NBA point guard with the ball. And I thought that on missed shots and him pushing it, he was really good. I thought him getting us organized out of our offense after they made a shot was really good. I really loved his no turnovers and I really loved his offensive rebounds. I thought those two things, among all those comments I just made, are what stood out the most. It's the evolution of a 22-year-old, 6-10 point guard (who) used to be a college four man."

Simmons was aggressive and assertive, taking it to Leonard a couple of times and finishing at the rim. He was also huge on the glass, grabbing four offensive rebounds. 

.@BenSimmons25 goes for 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists in the Game VI win vs Toronto!#PhilaUnite | #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/7ZkObndp0G

Brown is right and the criticism on Simmons often goes too far, especially in his own town. It's really hard to put in perspective how young Simmons is, but it can't be said enough that it's only his second postseason. The only players in NBA history to produce more points, rebounds and assists than Simmons with their first 20 career postseason contests are Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson. 

The Eastern Conference semifinals series now shifts to Game 7 in Toronto on Sunday.