2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 12
VJ Edgecombe – 3
Joel Embiid – 3
Andre Drummond – 2
Paul George – 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
Well… the first half was kind of fun, at least.
The Philadelphia 76ers fell 129-104 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday afternoon.
The Sixers were right in there with the defending NBA champions through the first half, led by Tyrese
Maxey putting up 23 points on 8-for-10 field goal shooting by the break. By midway through the third, things started to slide a bit in favor of the Thunder, with OKC building a double-digit lead. By the halfway point of the final frame, the Thunder had amassed a 25-point lead. It was a really valiant first half effort from Philadelphia, but OKC simply took over the game in the second.
If you’re looking for a full game recap, you can check that out here.
Let’s get to the Bell Ringer.
Tyrese Maxey: 28 points (10-for-18 FG), 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals
Tyrese Maxey got off to a stellar two-way start, leading all scorers with 16 points on 6-for-7 field goal shooting with three steals in the first frame. He stayed red hot, carving through the Thunder defense with seemingly relative ease. By halftime, he continued to lead the floor with 23 points on stellar 8-for-10 field goal and 2-for-3 three-point shooting to go with two rebounds, three assists and three steals. His second half was not as strong (no one’s was from the Sixers) as the Thunder were able to completely clamp down on him defensively, but he still led the Sixers’ scoring by far with 28 points overall.
We know Maxey’s offense always has the potential to be this explosive, of course, but his defensive effort in this one was extremely strong as well. He looked extremely aggressive on the ball and has continued to develop his ability to lurk, read the opposing offense and intercept passes off the ball.
Maxey finished this one with 28 points on 10-for-18 field goal shooting with two rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Adem Bona: 11 points, 8 rebounds (6 offensive), 1 assist, 4 blocks
Adem Bona had some really strong minutes — probably some of his best all season —for the Sixers in the first half of this one… which was great considering how OKC was easily taking advantage of Andre Drummond when he was out there. Not only did he put up eight points on 2-for-3 field goal shooting and 4-for-4 shooting from the line in the first half, but he was an absolute menace on defense. He had two steals by the break to show for it, but that doesn’t tell the whole story of just how energetic and involved he was defensively, helping keep this one extremely close going into halftime.
Even as things started to get lopsided in the second half, Bona kept bringing the energy, fighting for blocks and boards even when the game was realistically out of reach.
Bona finished with 11 points (3-for-4 from the floor, 5-for-6 from the line) with seven rebounds (five offensive), one assist and four blocks.
Justin Edwards: 12 points (4 triples), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Justin Edwards has had a rough season, let’s all be honest… but he seems to enjoy playing against the league’s toughest teams. This afternoon, he looked possibly the best he has all year in the first half against the defending NBA champs. Early on, Edwards was red hot from long range, sinking 3-of-3 attempts from beyond the arc for nine points along with three rebounds and a block by halftime.
His second half was not so great… but honestly the second half wasn’t exactly great for anyone on the Sixers. Thunder just took over. It would be great to see more of the JE we saw this first half in other games, though.
Edwards finished with 12 points (4-for-6 from three), five rebounds, one assist and one block.
Jared McCain: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Jared McCain has had kind of a rough go since returning from the injuries that sidelined him for 11 months after ending the stellar beginning to his rookie season last year. Today was one of the better performances he’s had, especially shooting. The sophomore continues to look confident shooting, even though some inefficient games, and today they finally started falling smoothly. McCain shot 4-for-6 from the floor for 10 points in this one. He was 2-for-4 from long range, including hitting a really nice no-dip triple from the corner in the third frame.
Sure, it’s not the type of performance we got spoiled with watching McCain last season, but any game where the shots start falling like this is is a step in the right direction to getting back to that.
