Sixers Bell Ringer: Game 49

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

Bell Ringer Season Standings:

Joel Embiid - 18
Ben Simmons - 14
Jimmy Butler - 6
JJ Redick - 5
Robert Covington - 1
Dario Saric - 1
T.J. McConnell - 1
Furkan Korkmaz - 1
Landry Shamet - 1

Down eight points to San Antonio with under three minutes remaining, the Sixers closed the game out on a 10-0 run to help Brett Brown best his mentor Gregg Popovich, 122-120. Let’s run through the Bell Ringer candidates from the exciting win.

Ben Simmons: 21 points, 10 rebounds, 15 assists, 1 steal

Another triple-double for Simmons, who looked perfectly in command of the action during his 35 minutes of play and showed no sign of the upper respiratory infection that had him questionable leading up to the game. His 15 assists tied a career-high and he even sank a couple fadeaway jumpers. Simmons’ knifing drive in transition through the teeth of the Spurs defense kick-started the final 10-0 run, reigniting the crowd and giving the fan base hope that the Sixers could pull it off. Oh, and his defensive work to tip the ball away on the Spurs’ final possession sealed the victory. We simply witnessed a consistently excellent performance from the second-year point guard.

Joel Embiid: 33 points, 19 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block

Embiid struggled to finish inside against the positioning and length of LaMarcus Alridge early in the game. However, he backed down any smaller Spur he found himself matched up against, and picked things up in the second half with 20 post-halftime points. Ultimately, 13-for-28 from the field isn’t the worst night. Even when the shots weren’t falling, Embiid was fighting through the back pain and giving maximum effort on the boards, collecting 7 of his game-high 19 rebounds on the offensive glass. His lone block against DeMar DeRozan with inside of two minutes remaining was a key play in the comeback effort.

JJ Redick: 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block

Redick didn’t do much in the non-3-point shooting departments, but he more than covered that area for the Sixers, going 6-for-13 from behind the arc, including one crazy-long fadeaway triple over Aldridge. A pair of those long balls came in the latter part of the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead 4-point play with one minute remaining. Redick doesn’t often get mentioned among the “stars” of the team, but he’s the guy they turn to when in need of instant offense.

Corey Brewer: 9 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals

The team’s new wing savior seems to have a sweet spot shooting from the left wing, knocking down two of his three 3-point attempts. He also had a nice cut for a reverse lay-up from a Simmons feed, and drew multiple Spurs offensive fouls with his agitating defense. It was a more reserved effort from Brewer than the Rockets game sideshow, but he capably filled a role for the team once again.

Jonah Bolden: 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks

We saw a little more dimension to Bolden’s game Wednesday night, as he drained a spot-up corner 3 and drove to the hoop for a quasi-reverse lay-in. Of course, the biggest moment for the Aussie big man came when he tallied consecutive blocks of LaMarcus Aldridge and then ran the floor for a huge slam.

T.J. McConnell: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal

McConnell was roasted on defense by the likes of Patty Mills, but he had a great offensive night, tying a season-high with 8 assists and getting to his spots to shoot 5-for-6 from the field (the lone miss was a corner 3 attempt). I particularly enjoyed Popovich calling a timeout and waving his arms in the air because he was so exasperated that his team had given up another open foul line jumper to McConnell.

Wilson Chandler: 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block

Healthy Wilson Chandler came through with the biggest defensive play of the game!