2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 11
VJ Edgecombe – 2
Andre Drummond – 2
Paul George – 1
Dom Barlow – 1
Adem Bona – 1
Justin Edwards – 1
Joel Embiid – 1
Quentin Grimes – 1
Jared McCain – 1
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
15th roster spot – 1
The Philadelphia 76ers fell 120-117 to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday evening. It was a tough one in the end. Fortunately, they’ll have a few days off to forget about it.
For the Sixers, Tyrese Maxey was unavailable due to illness, missing
his second game in a row. Trendon Watford and Kelly Oubre Jr. also remain sidelined. The Hawks had a flurry of injuries of their own, most notably Trae Young (knee) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness)
Joel Embiid was — perhaps somewhat surprisingly — available for this one. Embiid has not played on just one day’s rest at all this season until this weekend. On Friday evening, the big fella had his best performance of the 2025-26 campaign, dropping 39 points in 32 minutes in the Sixers’ win over the Indiana Pacers.
Though the Hawks held the lead the majority of the game, the Sixers were right there with them just as long. This one, like seemingly every Sixers’ game this season, came down to the wire. Though they had a chance (or two, thanks to an offensive rebound from VJ Edgecombe) to take the lead with under a minute to play, Philadelphia couldn’t capitalize. The officials didn’t help with missing a backcourt violation against the Hawks in the final moments. Maybe I’m just biased, what do you think?
That being said, if you’re looking for a full game recap, you can find that here!
For now, let’s get to the Bell Ringer. Though it ended in a loss, there were a few impressive performances from Sixers in this one.
Paul George: 35 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block
Paul George is starting to look like… well, Paul George. George was scorching hot to start the second, ripping off nine quick points in the first minute and a half of the period. For the rest of the game, he simply kept the Sixers alive, hitting buckets just when they needed them the most. PG notched a season-high 35 points (his highest mark ever as a Sixer) and was incredibly efficient in doing so, shooting 11-for-21 (52.4%) from the floor, 7-for-10 (70%) from long range and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
It hasn’t been particularly flashy all the time, but it doesn’t need to be! George has been making extremely timely buckets time and time again, and is incredibly impactful on defense. What more could you ask for? Looking at performances like this one and his great effort on Friday in the win over the Pacers, the nine-time NBA All-Star is looking like the player that Sixers’ fans have wanted to see.
George finished this one with 35 points, four rebounds, three assists and one block.
Joel Embiid: 22 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Embiid was — somewhat surprisingly — available for Sunday’s contest, on just one day’s rest after dropping 39 points this past Friday. For the first time this season playing on just a single day of rest, the big fella looked pretty good. He is moving more comfortably than we have seen so far this campaign, which is allowing him to not only make more offensive contributions, but to be more active defensively and on the boards. Embiid already had nine rebounds (four offensive) and two blocks by halftime of this one.
He wasn’t incredibly efficient shooting on Sunday but, frankly, the only Sixers that really were efficient against the Hawks were PG and Dominick Barlow. Just by being out on the floor and being the offensive threat opposing teams know he can be is often enough, however, just for the spacing it provides. Embiid being able to chip in +20 points, box out and grab +10 rebounds while putting up some defense (especially on one day’s rest at his current health) is great. It’s about him contributing the ways he can without doing too much that it compromises his body even more, and Embiid seems to be starting to understand what that role is.
Embiid finished this one with his first double-double of the season: 22 points, 14 rebounds (six offensive), one assist, one steal and two blocks.
VJ Edgecombe: 26 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
VJ Edgecombe was slightly stifled early after picking up two early fouls, but he made up for it later in the game. After putting up seven points in the first half, Edgecombe absolutely took over in the third frame. The rookie scored 17 of the Sixers’ 36 points in the penultimate period, and made it look easy. He went 5-for-7 from the floor in the third, shooting 3-for-3 from long range including a nice step-back.
It’s not always going to be on the level of his 34-point NBA debut, but the rookie is showing more and more his potential to be a star in this league. He is maneuvering through opposing defenses with ease, finding the right spots to take shots, and doesn’t seem to suffer any sort of frustration when things don’t start perfectly in a game for him — all incredible assets in a kid that’s played just 21 NBA contests.
Edgecombe finished this one with 26 points, sinking 9-of-21 (42.9%) from the field including four triples. He also had six rebounds, two assists and a block.
Dominick Barlow: 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block
I have to give a shoutout to Dominick Barlow here. Maybe his contributions weren’t as massive as PG’s season-high or VJ’s 17-point third, but this guy is constantly battling and, most importantly, knows when to be in the right place at the right time. He continues to impress on defense and rebounding, especially offensive boards — both things this Sixers’ team desperately need more often than not.
Remember, too, that Barlow is currently on a two-way contract with the Sixers. He certainly doesn’t play like a two-way guy. He finished this one with 11 points (4-for-6 field goals, 1-for-1 three-pointers) with seven rebounds (three offensive), an assist, two steals and a block.
