Sixers point guard Ben Simmons remains sidelined, didn’t make trip to Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE — Ben Simmons did not accompany the 76ers on their trip here Wednesday night to Cream City for their two-game series against the Milwaukee Bucks, according to multiple sources.

As a result, Thursday’s matchup against the Bucks at Fiserv Forum marked the third consecutive game he missed with an illness. Milwaukee will also host the Sixers on Saturday.

Doc Rivers was asked if he expects to have Simmons available for Saturday.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll see. Right now, I’ll say 50-50 at best, and I’m an optimist. But I don’t know.”

The coach said the illness is more serious than originially thought, but not more serious to the point where a lot of games will be missed.

“But it’s more serious that we hoped for, because he’s still missing games,” Rivers said. “And we just need him to get well.”

Reserve Furkan Korkmaz also missed Thursday’s contest with a right ankle injury. Meanwhile, Tobias Harris and Seth Curry returned to action.

Harris had missed the past three games with right knee soreness. Curry sat out Wednesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns due to left hip flexor recovery. While he played on Monday versus the Golden State Warriors, Curry missed Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers with left hip flexor soreness.

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Doc Rivers said following Wednesday’s game that he thought Simmons would make the trip, but added he wasn’t sure.

Simmons is averaging 14.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 1.6 steals this season. He’s a leading candidate to win the NBA defensive player of the year.

Thursday will be the 11th game he’ll miss this season.

Korkmaz rolled his right ankle while slipping on the floor on his way to attempting a layup with 2 minutes, 26 seconds into the second half. The Sixers called a timeout after Chris Paul made a three-pointer on the ensuing possession.

During the timeout, Korkmaz was subbed out of the game and went to the locker room to be evaluated. After coming out of the locker room, the swingman rode an exercise bike and did some exercises with his ankle. He returned to the game with 9:05 remaining.

Korkmaz accompanied the team to Milwaukee and originally listed as questionable for the game. After testing out his ankle during pregame, he was ruled out.

Anthony Tolliver was signed to his second 10-day contract on Thursday. The power forward played in one game during his first 10-game stint. He had two rebounds, an assist and block in 14:07 in the Sixers’ 106-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on April 16.