Chance for Ben Simmons, Jerryd Bayless to form PG chemistry on Sixers' road trip

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Neither Ben Simmons nor Jerryd Bayless will suit up this season, but Brett Brown feels it is equally important for them as it is for active players to be with the team on the road on this West Coast swing.

The 6-foot-10 rookie and the 6-foot-3 veteran, while opposite on paper, are going to be closely tied together in the Sixers' system next season if all goes as planned.

Brown intends to start Simmons at the one-spot. That's the same position as Bayless. Looking ahead, Bayless could either sub for Simmons or share the court with Simmons because of his ability as a combo-guard.

"I've made it quite public I want to try Ben at point guard," Brown said. "With that, I don't see Ben guarding point guards. So here comes Jerryd. He's got that ability. I see those two existing quite well."

The Sixers signed Bayless to a three-year deal last offseason. He fit the criteria for a guard to play alongside Simmons in an untraditional system. The pair didn't get the chance to play together beyond a short stint during training camp. Simmons fractured his right foot in the final scrimmage. Bayless suffered a left wrist injury early in camp. He had his cast removed this week after three months.

Brown hopes that what chemistry Bayless and Simmons can't yet form on the court, they can create by spending time with one another during shootarounds, practices and traveling.

"Inone sense you have a rookie that hasn't played a second," Brown said. "In the other sense, you've got our version of a veteran in Jerryd that can share other stories and join in that type of conversation that I really want to have with my players."

Bayless isn't the only experienced voice on the road. Former Sixer Elton Brand, who was hired as a player development after retirement, also is with the team for this trip. Brown sees Brand's 17 years of NBA experience as an invaluable resource the Sixers still can tap into even though he is not playing.

"He's one of these rare players that I've tripped on over my 16 years in the league that you really feel comfortable with and trust," Brown said. "He's obviously not poor; he doesn't have to do this. I say that because it's just another layer to confirming his heart is in the right place. He wants to help me, he wants to help our young guys."

Brand signed with the Sixers last January for his final season to provide leadership to a young locker room. Now in a personnel role, Brown describes Brand's presence as "an incredible sense of perspective, a calm mind."

"I just have a tremendous amount of respect for Elton Brand and appreciate his inclusion and his company," Brown said.

Joel Embiid is scheduled to join the Sixers in Los Angeles.

BOX SCORE

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A loss is still a loss, but with two contenders on the horizon, a close match against the postseason-focused Trail Blazers was a solid starting point to get the Sixers on track for this road trip.

The Sixers came into Portland having dropped six out of their last eight games. They were blown out by 30 by the Pistons last weekend and trailed the Bucks by 27 in their most recent contest on Monday. The Sixers wanted to shake those losses.

The Trail Blazers, who entered the night on a three-game winning streak, jumped out to a 12-point lead. The Sixers fought back this time and forced overtime at the buzzer of regulation before falling short, 114-108 (see Instant Replay).

"We had a few games there that were out of character," Gerald Henderson said. "This is a good team and we played well against them. In terms of how we're playing, I think we'll take some positives from it. You want to turn it into winning."

The Sixers face a tough upcoming schedule with games against the Clippers on Saturday and Warriors on Tuesday. The competition isn't going to get easier, and this is the kind of fight they will have to show to compete on their opponents' home turf.

"Playing in front of this crowd and playing in front of superstars like they have, that's what we're going to have to face these next couple of games," T.J. McConnell said. "We have to be ready, know our defensive assignments to a T and execute on offense."

The Sixers had moments to take with them, and others to learn from and leave behind.

Dario Saric scored a career-high 28 points with nine rebounds (which was overshadowed by 28 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists and six blocks by Jusuf Nurkic). He had a determined mindset entering the game. Saric played well in front of his mother, who traveled from Europe to watch him compete in the NBA.

"I felt this can be my night," Saric said. "I just tried to play, tried to stay hungry all the game, tried to be smart, tried to [prevent] the emotional side of me to push me into some kind of hole, to want too much, and don't get in trouble because of that. This was in my mind all the time and I tried to keep myself, no rush, just no rush, take your time."

On the flip side, Robert Covington briefly lost track of the game and intentionally fouled C.J. McCollum with 19.6 seconds to go and the game tied 95 apiece. Covington thought Nurkic had drained two free throws, not one, moments earlier and the Sixers were trailing when they actually were evened up. Brown described the play as a "type of mistake he just doesn't make."

"I thought Nurkic made both," Covington said. "It was a small brain fart. But coach told me to move on from it."

He did, and sent the game into overtime with a putback off a Henderson miss at the buzzer. Covington finished the night with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

"What we all should finally remember is how good of an effort he made to get that putback at the end of the game and what a good game he had," Brown said.

The Sixers also integrated Jahlil Okafor back into the starting lineup after missing the last two games with right knee soreness. Okafor posted 16 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes.

"At the start of each half he got winded quickly, but I thought for not having played for a while he was really good," Brown said.

The Sixers will have a day to regroup before facing the Clippers on Saturday afternoon. They will follow that up with a back-to-back against the Lakers on Sunday before heading to Oakland against the Warriors on Tuesday.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook had his 31st triple-double of the season to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 102-92 on Thursday night.

Westbrook had 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists to match Wilt Chamberlain's 1967-68 campaign for the second-most triple-doubles in a season.

Victor Oladipo scored 20 points, and Enes Kanter added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder. They snapped a four-game losing streak.

Kawhi Leonard scored 19 points for the Spurs. They had had won nine straight. San Antonio dropped two games behind the Golden State Warriors in the race for the best record in the NBA.

Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kyle Anderson sat out for the Spurs. Ginobili rested, Parker had back stiffness and Anderson had a sprained right knee (see full recap).

Pistons top Cavs despite LeBrons triple-double AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Andre Drummond had 20 points and 16 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter before holding on for a 106-101 victory over the injury-plagued Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.

LeBron James had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists -- and threw down over a half-dozen tremendous dunks -- but the Cavaliers have now lost three straight and five of their last seven. J.R. Smith played for Cleveland after a thumb injury had kept him out since December, but Kevin Love and Kyle Korver were out, and the Cavaliers lost Andrew Bogut earlier in the week with a broken leg.

Cleveland led 80-73 after finishing the third quarter with a 22-5 run,
but the Pistons started strong in the fourth, and a tip-in by Reggie Jackson gave Detroit an 82-80 advantage.

Jackson also beat the shot clock with a floater with 55 seconds left, lifting the Pistons to a 103-98 lead.

James and Kyrie Irving had 19 points each in the first half, but Detroit led 55-52 after two quarters. James had five dunks in the half, including a two-hander in the first quarter in which he swung a bit on the rim and received a technical foul. That play gave Cleveland a 27-12 advantage, but the Cavs' lead would never surpass 15 (see full recap).

Russell, Lakers snap 8-game losing skid PHOENIX -- D'Angelo Russell scored 28 points, including six 3-pointers, and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 122-110 win against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.

Jordan Clarkson added 19 for the Lakers, who stopped an 11-game skid in Phoenix, where they hadn't won since Jan. 5, 2011. Los Angeles lost 137-101 in its previous game in Phoenix on Feb. 15, the most one-sided Suns win in the series' history.

The Lakers took the lead to start the second half and were up by as many as 21 Thursday night. A late Phoenix run made it a seven-point game before Los Angeles scored the final five points.

Devin Booker scored 23 for the Suns. Marquese Chriss added 18, and T.J. Warren finished with 17 (see full recap).

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