Ben Simmons has come up just short of a triple-double on return to the NBA in a performance the Australian felt vindicated his determination to recover from a long-term back injury.
Brooklyn guard Simmons had missed 12 weeks and 38 games with a nerve impingement, the latest in a string of injuries that have scuppered his first two years at the Nets.
But in his return on Monday night (Tuesday AEDT), Simmons was agitator-in-chief as the hosts rode early dominance to a 147-114 shellacking of the Utah Jazz.
