lebron james-ben simmons-cleveland cavaliers Dec 9, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington gets a hand on the ball as Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket against Philadelphia 76ers forward Amir Johnson (5) during the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

It’s easy to see why Ben Simmons is often compared to LeBron James. Like the four-time MVP, the 21-year-old Aussie is a forward in a center’s body with guard skills, who posts double-doubles routinely and triple doubles on especially good nights.

Simmons will easily win Rookie of the Year this year and could have MVPs in his future, but he’s not at LeBron’s level quite yet. On Saturday night, James tallied 30 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists as the Cavaliers defeated Simmons’ Sixers 105-99. Outcome aside, the game, and especially the fourth quarter, was a procession of highlight plays, as LeBron and Simmons put on a show.

Here’s Simmons starting the game with a fast-break slam:

Here’s Simmons finding Robert Covington on a nifty little no-look pass:

Here’s LeBron finishing an open alley-oop from J.R.Smith:

Here’s Simmons knifing to the basket for a dunk:

Here’s LeBron, on a long football-style pass from Smith, sinking a contested lay-up.

The Sixers actually led late in the fourth quarter. Here’s Simmons spinning by a defender and posterizing another to give Philly a five-point lead:

But here’s LeBron a few minutes later finding Kyle Korver with a beautiful bounce pass for a go-ahead three:

And here’s The King hitting Jae Crowder with an incredible cross-court jump-pass to help seal the game.

Simmons wound up with 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting, six rebounds and 10 assists, but he also turned over the ball seven times in the loss (though LeBron had six turnovers of his own). One day LeBron might pass the point-forward torch to Simmons, but Saturday was not that day.

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.