2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer standings: Tyrese Maxey – 9 VJ Edgecombe – 2 Andre Drummond – 2 Dom 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
With both teams entering Thursday night with multiple starters and rotation players unavailable, the Sixers looked to deliver an early knockout blow on Golden State, jumping out to a 30-10 lead after the first quarter. Then, leading by 22 at halftime, Philadelphia began a truly horrendous second half of play.
A Warriors squad missing Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green (who exited the game in the second quarter) went on a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to close the gap, a period over which the Sixers went five and a half minutes without scoring. Golden State would later complete the comeback, fully erasing what was once a 24-point Philadelphia lead.
Down one in the final minute, the Sixers had three separate cracks at taking the lead, but couldn’t get it done. Finally, with eight seconds left, VJ Edgecombe stole the in-bounds pass and on the ensuing possession, collected an offensive rebound and converted the putback for the go-ahead points at 99-98. To cap off a truly wild Sixers win, the Warriors threw a full-length court pass with under a second left, and looked to have a lay-in at the buzzer, but Tyrese Maxey blocked it off the glass to preserve the victory. We may never see a final-second sequence like it again.
Let’s get to Bell Ringer.
VJ Edgecombe: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 5 turnovers
You couldn’t imagine two bigger plays on each end of the court with the game on the line. Edgecombe stayed right in Buddy Hield’s hip pocket on the out-of-bounds play, snagging the ball away and securing it with just enough time for Nick Nurse to call a timeout. Then, he stayed with the play on the offensive side, reading the ball beautifully and collecting it for his first career game-winner. We witnessed two incredible displays combining high basketball IQ and outstanding athleticism, all from an NBA rookie with fewer than 20 career games under his belt. Not that we were doubting it coming into Thursday night, but the Sixers got a keeper.
Tyrese Maxey: 35 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers
For a while, it looked like a somewhat familiar formula for Maxey and the Sixers. Tyrese dominated on the offensive end with a display of long-range bombs, stepback jumpers, and drives to the cup. Maxey had over 30 points after three quarters, and the Sixers could have just put the game to bed and maybe given their star point guard an early night in advance of tomorrow night’s back-to-back. Of course, everything absolutely went to pot and the Sixers watched everything fall to pieces, with even Maxey’s shot going cold down the stretch. Still, Tyrese didn’t take a single moment off, and as Edgecombe put the Sixers back in front and the Warriors chucked it downcourt, it was Maxey sprinting full speed to save the game with a block. Maybe only a few guys would have been fast enough to even make that play.
