Regular Season Bell Ringer Standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 2.5
Joel Embiid – 1
Jaylen Brown – 0.5
The Sixers made it interesting for awhile, but came back around to take down a shorthanded Indiana Pacers squad on Wednesday night.
The Pacers were banged up for this one, with multiple players sidelined including Tyrese Haliburton and starting center Ivica Zubac. The Sixers, on the other hand, had all five starters on the floor Wednesday.
The Sixers looked sloppy and shot poorly to start the night, allowing
the Pacers to keep things tied after one. Fortunately the second quarter was a bit tighter from Philadelphia — far from perfect, but better — with the team shooting 56.0% from the floor in the frame to amass a 10-point lead at the break (special thanks to VJ Edgecombe for hitting a buzzer-beating 50-foot triple to end the half).
It was a lead they quickly squandered, allowing Indiana a quick 17-0 run to start the second half. It was as bad a third as you could get from Philadelphia, who entered the final frame down 10 points to the shorthanded Pacers. Fortunately, things finally started clicking for the Sixers, helped by the leadership of LeBron James and some hot shooting from Tyrese Maxey, with the visitors battling back within a few points and finally retaking a narrow lead toward the end of the game.
It was way harder than it should have been, but the Sixers held on. A win’s a win. The Sixers move to 4-1.
Let’s get to the Bell Ringer. With different players stepping up at different times throughout this one, we have quite a few options.
Joel Embiid: 21 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
Joel Embiid looked sharp to start the evening, leading the Sixers after one with six points on 3-for-3 field goal shooting. With the Pacers down their starting center, it was the perfect excuse to get the ball to Embiid in the post, which the big fella was quick to take advantage of. Even if he was double-teamed, Embiid was able to simply spin away and create a ton of space for himself to pull right up or hit the fadeaway. And the best part: the shot was silky smooth and falling tonight. If anything, the Sixers weren’t going to him quite enough to start the night, but they started to rectify that in the second frame. By halftime, Embiid had 14 points on 6-for-10 field goal shooting, with five buckets coming off the midrange jumper.
The puzzling thing is that the Sixers seemed to stop running the offense through Embiid in the second half. I personally think it’s no coincidence that, once they stopped getting the ball to Embiid, the offense grinded to a halt. Was it the only reason? No, absolutely not. But it certainly didn’t help.
Nevertheless, Embiid got involved again late and hit a few big buckets toward the end of this one to help secure the Philadelphia win. He finished the game with 21 points on 9-for-17 field goal shooting with 11 rebounds, two assists and one block.
Anfernee Simons: 20 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Apparently all it took to get Anfernee Simons into a groove was a reverse jinx from yours truly. Not even kidding. After missing his first triple attempt of the night, I tweeted about Simons’ struggles thus far, and how he came into the night shooting just 23.8% from long range to start the season.
He immediately sank two back-to-back triples. Like clockwork. In the second frame, he tacked on two more quick threes off the bench. At that point, the team was 4-for-11 from three-point range for the night, with Simons responsible for all four successes — a huge boost for a Sixers team that was letting the Pacers hang right in there with them at that point in the game.
Simons ended up sinking 6-of-10 three-pointers on Wednesday night. Again, after coming into this game having shot just 23.8% from behind the arc to start the season, that’s one hell of warm-up. We’ll take it.
Simons finished with 20 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal off the bench.
LeBron James: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers
LeBron James had a far from perfect game. His shooting could have been better. He could have been a bit better rebounding at times. But he is able to turn it on when the team needs it. In the fourth, with the Sixers trailing after a miserable third, James locked in. First, two back-to-back assists to Anfernee Simons both resulting in triples. Then, he hits a triple of his own. Next, right back to facilitator, working the two-man game with Embiid that resulted in an and-1 for the big fella. Suddenly, the Sixers were back within two points. It feels strange to have to say “that’s why you want to have a player like LeBron James,” but, well… that’s why you want a player like LeBron James! He has all the capabilities to turn a game around through both his own scoring and especially his playmaking, and he was responsible for a huge momentum swing for the Sixers late in this one.
He finished the game with 13 points, five rebounds, 10 assists, one steal, two blocks and ZERO turnovers. But, again, with LeBron, even the stats don’t always fully reflect his impact.
Jaylen Brown: 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
It’s not always flashy. In fact, with Jaylen Brown, it seems to happen in ways you don’t even notice. It just slowly adds up. A few buckets here, some foul shots there… but Brown is constantly contributing offensively for the Sixers. There really wasn’t a specific big run from Brown in this one. There was nothing super flashy or anything that will pop up on a big highlight reel, but he was present throughout, chipping in points when the Sixers are hot and even when the rest of the team seems to be ice cold.
Even if you aren’t watching the games to see the impact he quietly makes on both ends of the floor, the stats speak for themselves: 20 points on 7-for-13 field goal shooting, 10 rebounds (4 offensive), two assists, one steal and one block. You take that every single day of the week.
Tyrese Maxey: 27 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
This wasn’t Tyrese Maxey’s best game by any means… but man, did he turn it on when it really counted. It had been a bit of an up-and-down night, with some inconsistent shooting and some sloppy turnovers. Maxey also seemed to let his frustration on calls — or lack thereof — get the better of him.
But late in the fourth, he did what he does best. He turned on the jets to get out ahead for some transition buckets. He used his fancy footwork and impressive body control to stop on a dime and sink pull-up and step-back threes. He helped put the Sixers ahead when it matters the most: the end of the game. I actually didn’t have him as a Bell Ringer contender until late in this one, but you can’t deny the importance of having a reliable late-game scorer. It’s the difference between a close loss and a close win… and the difference this time was, in no small part, Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey finished the game with 27 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal.
