Sixers Bell Ringer: Game 32 - Sixers prevail in Motor City, 125-109

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 - 6
Matisse Thybulle - 3
Furkan Korkmaz - 1
Al Horford - 1
James Ennis - 1

On the road-game-adjusted scale, Monday night’s 125-109 victory is about as comfortable a win as the Sixers are likely to have. Philadelphia was ahead for the majority of the game, and the Pistons never led by more than two points. It was still just a six-point Sixers lead with nine minutes left in the game, but the Sixers quickly juiced their lead up to 22 points, enabling them to keep Joel Embiid on the bench for the last eight minutes of the contest. Let’s pick a Bell Ringer from the well-rounded team effort.

Tobias Harris: 35 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers

Do you think Tobi had something to prove against a Pistons organization that traded him away almost two years ago? Harris went off for a season-high 35 points, his highest total as a Sixer. Tobias was on fire from everywhere on the court, shooting 14-of-21 overall and 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Whether he was initiating the offense himself or working himself open off the ball, Harris always placed pressure on the defense. He made a couple nice feeds himself, including a half-court dish to Ben Simmons. For those folks who complained about his contract or wanted to trade him away earlier this season, maybe send Tobias a mental note of apology.

Ben Simmons: 16 points, 13 rebounds, 17 assists, 4 turnovers

Sure, his teammates were hitting open shots, but Simmons going off for a career-high 17 assists was mainly a product of Ben playing aggressively and forcing the defense to deal with him as a threat to score. Simmons pushed the pace throughout the game, both taking it all the way to the hoop, and leveraging the Pistons being off balance to create drive-and-kick opportunities for his teammates. He was also once again effective on the offensive glass with six offensive rebounds. People like to yell that Ben needs to post up, but crashing the boards is another great way for Ben to take advantage of situations when the opposition places a smaller defender on him. A triple-double, a career-high and some acrobatic plays — quite the night for the Aussie star.

Furkan Korkmaz: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 0 turnovers

Matisse, who? While Sixers fans are still bummed about the Thybulle injury news, it was terrific to see Furkan step up for a career-high 21 points. The 22 minutes played were the most for Korkmaz since December 8. He had the outside shot working, going 3-of-7 from downtown, his most made 3s in a game this month. But Furkan even finished a number of times around the basket, and chipped in with a Matisse-like three steals. Korkmaz retired the yellow shoes, and the early results are encouraging.

Joel Embiid: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers

For a guy who entered the night questionable with an illness, Joel Embiid made Andre Drummond and the rest of the Pistons frontcourt sick to their stomach. JoJo faked defenders out of their shoes, drawing fouls and freeing himself for easy slams. Embiid finished a hyper-efficient 7-of-9 from the field, doing a nice job not forcing things and finding open teammates when the double teams came. Joel didn’t need to demonstrate the proceedings tonight, so he merely played within the team framework and dominated his individual matchup whenever called upon.