Sixers Bell Ringer: Game 63 - Warriors come out to play

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

Bell Ringer Season Standings:

Joel Embiid - 21
Ben Simmons - 17
Jimmy Butler - 8
JJ Redick - 6
Tobias Harris - 3
Robert Covington - 1
Dario Saric - 1
T.J. McConnell - 1
Furkan Korkmaz - 1
Landry Shamet - 1
Corey Brewer - 1
Boban Marjanovic - 1

People will focus on some puzzling decisions in the final minute or so, but after the Sixers led by 12 points by halftime, it was a 16-0 Warriors run in the third quarter that turned the tide. Here are your Bell Ringer candidates from the 120-117 loss to Golden State.

Mike Scott: 22 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover

With no Joel Embiid, no Boban Marjanovic, no Amir Johnson, and Jonah Bolden perpetually in foul trouble, Scott tallied a whopping 32 minutes off the bench. He understandably struggled to contain Boogie Cousins defensively, but made up for it as a stretch five, nailing six of his nine 3-point attempts. Scott also fired up the crowd by getting in the face of Jordan Bell after a hard foul — the players were assessed a double technical. Scott’s late intentional foul of Kevin Durant when the Sixers could have played defense straight-up and still had time for a potential game-tying shot was an inexcusable mental error, though.

Ben Simmons: 25 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals, 9 turnovers

The nine turnovers were bad. I get it. Some of the decisions were passes that just did not need to be made. However, the rest of Ben’s game was outstanding, and not just because he had yet another triple-double. Simmons flew up and down the court all game long (curiously, except for the final possession when he walked the ball up slowly). He carried the load on the defensive glass with the Sixers playing prolonged small-ball lineups. Defensively, he showed great anticipation and was seemingly everywhere, tallying a handful of steals and many more deflections that were near-steals. Ben even hit his free throws, going 5-for-5 until the head-scratching intentional miss.

Tobias Harris: 20 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 turnovers

Harris initially looked to be on his way to another huge game, recording 16 points in the first half. The jumpers were wet, forcing the defense to close out hard and opening up short floaters and forays to the rim. The second half was a different story, however. Harris went ice-cold, and with the shots not falling, it also led to him winding up in crowds and turning if over. Still, Tobi keeps his 20-point-game streak alive at six.

Jimmy Butler: 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers

Weird game for Jimmy, who shot 5-for-16 from the field and was unable to get a rhythm going with his short-to-mid-range game. The herky-jerky movements he throws out there sometimes did draw some Warriors fouls, and combined with his aggressive charges to the cup, led to Butler going 9-for-11 at the charity stripe. Butler also worked his tail off for loose balls, collecting 5 offensive rebounds.

Jonah Bolden: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover

Maybe someday Bolden will be able to go five minutes without getting whistled for a foul, but the rest of his game was encouraging. He started the game off with a crazy reverse lay-up for an and-one. Also, he has now hit at least one 3 in four straight games, going 3-for-4 from behind the arc in this game. Defensively, Bolden flashed that promising versatility, showing out to the 3-point line and having a couple nice plays bodying Cousins on the interior.

T.J. McConnell: 10 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover

T.J. had himself a nice enough game off the bench, going 4-for-6 from the field with his usual diet of pull-up jumpers from around 12 feet. I mainly wanted to give him props for the play in the final minute where he prevented Kevin Durant from having a game-sealing dunk and managed to knock the ball off KD for a Warriors turnover to boot. The Sixers briefly had a second life and it was the kind of pure hustle (and yes, gritty) play we’ve come to expect from McConnell.