Sixers Bell Ringer: Game 40 - Everything is bigger in Texas, even the second-half collapses

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

Bell Ringer Standings

Ben Simmons - 9
Tobias Harris - 8
Joel Embiid - 8
Josh Richardson - 8
Matisse Thybulle - 3
Furkan Korkmaz - 1
Al Horford - 1
James Ennis - 1

No Joel Embiid. No Kristaps Porzingis. Ben Simmons vs. Luka Doncic. As far as post-Embiid finger surgery games go, Saturday night seemed like a fair enough road spot for the Sixers, especially considering Dallas had played the Lakers the night before. Things appeared to be going well for the road club heading into the locker room, as Philadelphia led by nine points at halftime. However, the Mavericks then decided they couldn’t miss a shot, outscoring the Sixers by 27 points in the second half as Brett Brown’s club dropped its fifth straight game away from home. It is with a heavy heart that I declare we must select a Bell Ringer.

Ben Simmons: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals, 0 turnovers

For the first portion of the game, it looked like Ben was the clear victor in the headlining matchup. He was the primary defender against Luka Doncic, who had his moments, but as an opponent, you’ll take a 4-of-15 shooting night from last year’s Rookie of the Year. Simmons had multiple steals in the first half that led directly to him dunking on the other end, including a poke from behind to force a Doncic turnover. Unfortunately for Ben and the Sixers, he went scoreless in the second half, mirroring the team’s overall ineffectiveness during that time frame.

Tobias Harris: 20 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 turnovers

It wasn’t Tobias’ most efficient outing, shooting 9-of-22 from the floor. He led the team in scoring, though, and had to manufacture points out of thin air on multiple occasions — getting an iso from the top of the key or the wing and driving full-throttle to the basket for the hoop. Each of his misses from 3 (he went 2-of-7) came on open looks. Although you’d obviously like to see Harris knock down a couple more of those shots, it was good to see him letting them fly without forcing anything outside the flow of the offense.

Al Horford: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover

Somewhat of an inverse from Ben Simmons, Horford started the game 1-of-10 from the field, meaning that (bring that down, carry the one) Al finished game making five of his last six field goal attempts. He tried to keep the Sixers hanging around with back-to-back 3s in a 30-second span in the fourth quarter, but the floodgates had opened too wide by that point.

Furkan Korkmaz: 2 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers

He missed every other shot he took, but for one glorious moment, Furkan took flight.