Sixers Bell Ringer: Team wastes huge late buckets from Maxey vs. Raptors

Tyrese Maxey dropped 38, but the Sixers choked away leads in regulation and overtime to the Raptors.

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2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 15
VJ Edgecombe – 5
Paul George – 4
Joel Embiid – 3
Andre Drummond – 2
Dominick Barlow – 1
Adem Bona – 1
Justin Edwards – 1
Quentin Grimes – 1
Jared McCain – 1
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
15th roster spot – 1

A game that started ugly ended equally as ugly.

The Sixers overcame a brutal first half only to blow a four-point lead with under 20 seconds left in regulation and then squander another lead in overtime in a 116-115 loss to the Raptors.

It was a nasty, physical game, and the Sixers didn’t handle it well outside of the third quarter — go figure.

Check out our full recap here.

Joel Embiid missed the contest and Paul George was a late scratch, but Toronto was missing three starters in Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl.

The Sixers fall to 21-16 on the season, 1.5 games back of the fourth-seeded Raptors. They’re right back at it Monday night in Toronto for the rare back-to-back against the same opponent.

For now, let’s talk Bell Ringer.

Editor’s note: We’ve tweaked out voting process. Instead of a poll, I’m going to comment on the post with each candidate. Each comment/player name will be featured at the top of the comments. Give a “rec” for the player you’re voting for. This will give you all a running tally. It’s not perfect, but it was a fine suggestion by one of our readers, so we’re going to give it a shot.

Tyrese Maxey: 38 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks

There wasn’t much offense to speak of outside of Maxey. Even the high-scoring guard got off to a tough start in this one as the Sixers scored just 48 points in the first half.

But it was Maxey and Kelly Oubre, Jr. who led the charge in the third. Maxey seemed to use the Raptors’ physicality and aggressiveness against them. While he couldn’t find his stroke from deep, he showed off the diversity of his game, getting to the rim and drawing fouls — he was 10-of-12 from the line. He even had the midrange going and went 13-of-27 from the field. He was brilliant closing the game, pouring in nine points in the final two minutes. His step-back three with under 20 seconds left put the Sixers up four. Alas, the team couldn’t hold on.

Maxey scored three points in OT. VJ Edgecombe, who had a rough offensive night, had five, but no other Sixer scored in the extra period.

Maxey’s defensive game continues to shine this season as he added four more stocks Sunday night.

Kelly Oubre, Jr.: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks

Oubre, who is still working his way back from an LCL sprain, got the starting nod after George was a late scratch. In his third game back in action, this was easily the best Oubre has looked.

He ripped off a personal 7-0 run to start the third which seemed to energize the Sixers after a sleepy start. He was everywhere defensively, bringing his usual level of intensity and activity on that end. He played 34 minutes on the night, by far the most he’s played in his three games back.

It’s a shame that he picked up a foul on the final possession of overtime. Scottie Barnes clearly hooked his arm and it was Oubre who got that whistle. Nick Nurse lost a challenge at the end of regulation, so the Sixers couldn’t ask for a review.

All in all, this was an encouraging outing for Oubre, who was playing the best ball of his career before suffering a knee injury.

Adem Bona: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, +12

The numbers won’t blow you away, but this was a strong game for Bona. He was the clear better option over Andre Drummond, who struggled against the Raptors’ small lineups and was a -16 in under 20 minutes. It’s fair to wonder if Nurse should’ve used either Dominick Barlow or Jabari Walker at the five — both two-way guys were very effective Sunday.

Bona had struggled coming into this one after seemingly getting a stranglehold on the backup five minutes. It seems like Nurse is just going with the guy who’s going better, regardless of matchup. This was a painfully obvious Bona game. The second-year big man was active and engaged defensively.