Sixers Bell Ringer: Game 35

For a refresher on what constitutes a Bell Ringer, please reference the initial post.

Bell Ringer Season Standings:

Joel Embiid - 11
Ben Simmons - 10
Jimmy Butler - 5
JJ Redick - 4
Robert Covington - 1
Dario Saric - 1
T.J. McConnell - 1
Furkan Korkmaz - 1

The Sixers missed an opportunity to win in regulation, and Kyrie Irving continued to roast Philadelphia in overtime, leading to a 121-114 Boston victory on Christmas Day. Vote for your (Jingle) Bell Ringer:

Joel Embiid: 34 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks

Embiid has probably struggled against Boston more than any other opponent in his career, but not this Christmas. Despite the Celtics often playing with a free safety hanging back waiting to double team him, Joel would split the defenders, or power over them, and score around the rim. It was also good to see him shoot 2-for-4 from behind the arc after his recent comments about not liking to shoot 3-pointers. His 12-for-12 night at the foul line makes for some incredibly efficient offense.

On the defensive end, Al Horford is not far removed from an injury, but I’d still say Embiid did a good job against him. JoJo had some bad turnovers in this game, but the Sixers aren’t even close to hanging with Boston without him. I also have to imagine this block of Tatum was very cathartic for Sixers fans.

Jimmy Butler: 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals

The Sixers acquired Butler to help them win this sort of high-profile game against an upper-tier opponent. After a poor first quarter, Jimmy stepped up in a big way, especially throughout a 13-point third quarter, when he carried the Sixers back into the game during a stint with Embiid on the bench. Butler was one of the few Sixers able to switch across the vast array of dangerous Celtics wings, and tallied a number of steals and deflections. I know many Sixers fans were waiting for yet another game-winner from Jimmy, but his number wasn’t called.

Wilson Chandler: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Twice in the final two minutes of regulation, it was not any member of the big 3, but Wilson Chandler who gave the Sixers the lead. Throughout the game, he shot 3-for-6 from downtown, hustled for a couple offensive boards, made some nice passes, and was serviceable on defense. It was the ideal role player game. If we received this performance from Chandler every time out, you would hear nothing but praise for him from Sixers nation.

JJ Redick: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block

It’s not Redick’s fault that the current roster construction forces him to guard Kyrie Irving for any length of time. Without JJ’s hot start and 15 first half points, this game could have gotten out of hand early. However, after hitting his first four 3-point attempts, Redick missed his last six attempts. Given his cold stretch in the second half, it was curious Brett Brown tapped JJ for the final shot in regulation. Maybe Brett thought Boston would throw three defenders at Redick again and free up somebody else?