2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 19
Joel Embiid – 7
VJ Edgecombe – 7
Paul George – 6
Dominick Barlow – 2
Andre Drummond – 2
Jared McCain – 2
Adem Bona – 1
Justin Edwards – 1
Quentin Grimes – 1
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
15th roster spot – 1
The Philadelphia 76ers’ win streak has been cut at five games with a late-night loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, just hours after the NBA trade deadline passed.
The Sixers had some serious command of this game at points, looking like
the more energetic and solid team for the first two and a half quarters. The Lakers were committing a ton of turnovers (many of which were unforced) and the Sixers were able to build up a 14-point lead at one point in the third. Then, it began to fall apart towards the later half of the third period. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…
The Lakers took their first lead of the game early in the fourth period and quickly built upon it. It took three and a half minutes of the final frame before the Sixers were able to score a point (off free throws). It took five and a half for them to put up a field goal.
What started out as a great, widespread effort from four of the starting five quickly devolved into an absolute mess for Philadelphia. The Sixers fell 119-115.
It’s been a long day. Let’s get to the Bell Ringer for this one. Or should we say, let’s check out the Bell Ringer for about three periods?
Joel Embiid: 35 points (13-for-19 FG), 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Joel Embiid was looking great once again for the Sixers, setting the tone out of the gate for the squad with a floor-leading 12 points in the first frame on 4-for-6 field goal shooting. By halftime, he was up to 20 points on 7-for-10 field goal shooting with five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Those assists, by the way, have some absolute dimes mixed in. We have all been captivated by how well Embiid has been moving and scoring recently, but his improved playmaking and passing deserve a shoutout as well.
The big fella has always found ways to get points on the board, but the best thing right now is seeing how comfortably Embiid is making it happen on the floor. He takes the fouls they’ll give him and is good from the foul line, but he’s hardly relying on them. Not only has Embiid’s agility and footwork been impressive, but he has been sinking jumpers and finishing at the rim alike with an insane efficiency as of late. He truly is operating on another level right now, putting up 35 points and making it look relatively easy in the process.
Embiid finished with 35 points on 13-for-19 (68.4%) field goal shooting. He also had seven rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and one steal.
Dominick Barlow: 13 points (6-for-10 FG), 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
Dominick Barlow got right to work showing the Sixers why he deserved to be converted to a standard contract for the team just before tonight’s game. Barlow didn’t have quite as many rebounds tonight, finishing with just three, but it wasn’t for lack of aggression on the boards or defensively. He had a number of alley-oops contributing to his 13 total points, and it’s impressive to watch him make the most of a lob even if it’s not thrown exactly on the money.
Barlow finished with 13 points on 6-for-10 field goal shooting with three rebounds, two steals and a block.
Tyrese Maxey: 26 points, 13 assists, 4 steals
The shots weren’t always falling for Tyrese Maxey tonight by any means, but he still was able to contribute throughout with a number of great defensive plays and some excellent playmaking throughout the first half. Maxey actually hit the double-digit assists mark just a minute into the second half, coming a few minutes before before he had hit the 10-point mark. By that point in the game, it seemed like Maxey had settled a bit more. He was relying more on his speed to get into the paint and taking advantage of better opportunities to score there rather than throwing up ill-advised shots that just weren’t falling tonight. He also seemed to be the only one who could manage to score anything in the finale frame.
Maxey finished this one with a 26-point, 13-assist double-double. He also had four steals.
VJ Edgecombe: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals
Edgecombe was also the only Sixer able to hit anything from long range. Sincerely. The rookie had two triples by halftime and they were the only two three-pointers the Sixers had by the break. He wasn’t scoring a ton early, so he instead contributed by being a monster on the boards and a defensive menace to the Lakers. Otherwise, he kept his head up and chipped in points here and there when he had the opportunities to. It rarely feels like this rookie forces anything.
There’s also something to be said about this kid never getting down or giving up at the same time. When the game looked like it was already out of reach, Edgecombe gave them a serious shot at clawing victory from the jaws of defeat when he made this incredible defensive play and sunk the off-balance triple (video below!).
Edgecombe finished this one with a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double with two assists and four steals.
