Sixers Bell Ringer: Game 31 - Six Sixers reach double figures as losing skid halted

For a refresher on our Bell Ringer series, take a look back at our first post of the season.

Bell Ringer Standings

Ben Simmons - 7
Tobias Harris - 6
Joel Embiid - 6
Josh Richardson - 5
Matisse Thybulle - 3
Furkan Korkmaz - 1
Al Horford - 1
James Ennis - 1

We finally heard an arena-wide Dallas Sucks chant rain down in the Wells Fargo Center towards the end of a Sixers game. It would have been better to hear it a night earlier when the Sixers were actually playing Dallas, but hey, you take what you can get. Facing a depleted, undersized Wizards squad, the Sixers burst out to a a 23-point lead in the first half. Although Philadelphia had fans a little worried in letting the Wizards back into the game before halftime, with Washington eventually cutting the Sixers’ lead to single digits, the Sixers pulled away late to halt their three-game losing streak with a 125-108 victory. Let’s choose a Bell Ringer!

Josh Richardson: 21 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers

It has been a rough month for Josh Richardson, who missed a couple weeks with hamstring tightness, and was recently bothered by a minor wrist issue. Perhaps we have seen J-Rich turn the corner and return to the high level of play we witnessed during his dominant stretch in November. Richardson went 9-of-17 from the field against Washington for 21 points, his first 20-point game since November 25. Josh is able to score from all three levels, whether finding the range from the perimeter, attacking off the bounce, or cutting to finish ferociously at the rim.E

Joel Embiid: 21 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers

On both ends of the court, Joel Embiid made things look like a big brother-little brother situation, whether he was swatting Isaiah Thomas’ lay-up attempt or racking up fouls on Bryan Colangelo golden boy Anzejs Pasecniks. Embiid could have seemingly scored at will on those occasions he had the 6-foot-5 Admiral Schofield on him down low. With so many of his teammates finding success on the outside tonight, Embiid didn’t need to be the focal point, but when called upon, he ably handled his business.

Ben Simmons: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals, 6 turnovers

We saw a slightly more aggressive version of Simmons on the offensive end Saturday night, although Ben could have had an even bigger scoring night with a better performance at the charity stripe (he shot just 4-of-9). He isn’t going to beat the zone with his shooting, but he made an impact on the glass, collecting four offensive rebounds in the first half. With those extra opportunities, he kept the ball humming around to the open man, reaching the mark of his 1,500th assist during the game. Simmons became the fastest player to cross that threshold in team history.

Tobias Harris: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers

Coming off an 0-for-4 night against Dallas, Tobi was feeling it from long-range tonight, connecting on three of his six attempts from behind the arc. Still, Harris didn’t force the issue, only attempting 11 shots from the floor, and keeping the ball moving to ensure the best shot possible, as his four assists demonstrate. There have been nights this month when the Sixers needed Harris to step up and be the driving force of the offense. Tonight was not one of those nights, but he perfectly faded into the background as part of the supporting cast.

Trey Burke: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover

Burke received the backup point guard minutes tonight, and made his first five shots from the field, not missing until there was just over one minute left in the game. Trey made two treys in the first half to help the Sixers build their big lead (finishing 2-of-3 from 3), and helped ice the game with nearly identical pull-up jumpers in the closing minutes. The Sixers can definitely use his shot creation, so in matchups like Washington where there are smaller opposing guards like Isaiah Thomas and Ish Smith, Burke should factor into the rotation.

Matisse Thybulle: 9 points, 1 steal, 1 block, 0 turnovers

Thybulle was as responsible as any Sixer for the team closing out the victory, scoring all nine of his points in the fourth quarter. He made a pair of 3s (now shooting 46 percent from behind the arc on the season), and had one of those “pick-6” steal and slam sequences that get the crowd out of their seats.