Sixers Bell Ringer: Game 43 - Big third quarter lifts Sixers to victory over Chicago

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

Bell Ringer Standings

Ben Simmons - 11
Tobias Harris - 9
Joel Embiid - 8
Josh Richardson - 8
Matisse Thybulle - 3
Furkan Korkmaz - 1
Al Horford - 1
James Ennis - 1

One, two, three, four, five, six Sixers on the court.

That’s right, the Sixers fully embraced their name and tried to play with six men on the court. And it would have worked too, if it wasn’t for those meddling refs.

Eventually, the Sixers tried a different strategy — making every shot — which they unleashed in a scorching third quarter. Philadelphia shot 13-of-22 from the field and 5-of-8 from 3 to turn a one-point Bulls halftime lead into a 10-point Sixers advantage. That cushion proved to be enough, as the Sixers topped Chicago, 100-89, to move to 20-2 at the Wells Fargo Center this season. Let’s choose tonight’s Bell Ringer.

Furkan Korkmaz: 24 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 turnover

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Furkan ditched his bright green shoes for some color-coordinated red ones, and he must have been feeling confident in his new look. Korkmaz dropped a career- and game-high 24 points, shooting 8-of-11 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3. It was the Boston summer league game all over again in the third quarter, as Furkan went 4-of-4 from 3 and honestly looked like he could hit from anywhere on the court. He followed those bombs up with a huge dunk and a gorgeous floater in the fourth quarter, as well as a nice charge taken against Zach LaVine. It was an 18-point second half for the once-ceremonial victory cigar. It’s Furkan’s world and we’re just living in it.

Ben Simmons: 20 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers

John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

Sign me up to listen to Doris Burke talk about how great Ben Simmons is defensively for two-plus hours any night. In addition to his usual strong play on that end, Ben had himself a nice offensive outing, shooting 10-of-17 from the field with his BenJammin’ persona coming out in full force. Simmons also showed off some fancy dribbling and zipped passes all over the court. His one-handed, cross-court rifle to Korkmaz out of a post-up was a sight to behold, and he made a perfect alley-oop feed to Tobias Harris on that well-drawn-up ATO play by Brett Brown in the fourth quarter.

Al Horford: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers

John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

Before Furkan’s explosion, it was actually Al who started the Sixers’ big third quarter. Horford scored the team’s first nine points in the second half in just three minutes, hitting three jump shots, including a 3 from the top of the key, and attacking a Luke Kornet closeout with a drive and finger-roll lay-up at the rim. For the game, Horford was an efficient 8-of-14 shooting, made a couple of excellent high-low passes to Simmons underneath, and showed he still has some quick-twitch muscles by getting up twice in rapid succession for his rejection of Chandler Hutchison.

Matisse Thybulle: 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 1 turnover

John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

Young ‘Bulle showed off his outstanding defensive potential yet again, following up his 4-block, 2-steal game against Brooklyn with a slightly more casual 3-block, 2-steal outing Friday night. Three times Matisse made excellent plays against Zach LaVine, twice blocking him, and once standing him up on a drive to force LaVine to try to pass directly into Matisse’s arms. He has only played 30-some professional games and he’s doing this stuff. Give me all the Matisse minutes.