Sixers Bell Ringer: Game 46 - Win streak ends as Sixers suffer another injury in Toronto

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

Bell Ringer Standings

Ben Simmons - 13
Tobias Harris - 9
Joel Embiid - 8
Josh Richardson - 8
Matisse Thybulle - 3
Furkan Korkmaz - 2
Al Horford - 1
James Ennis - 1

Already down Joel Embiid, the Sixers lost a second starter to injury when Josh Richardson exited the game early with a strained left hamstring. Still, thanks to some hot 3-point shooting, Philadelphia was able to build a 14-point lead in the first quarter. The Raptors quickly rallied, however, working their way back into a tie game by halftime. Then, a 15-1 Toronto run spanning the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter gave the Pelicans a sizable advantage. The Sixers would make it a one-possession game on a couple occasions, but back-to-back 3s by Fred VanVleet sealed the eventual 107-95 win for Toronto. On to the Bell Ringer:

Furkan Korkmaz: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers

Furkan had an excellent game on both ends of the court, something they’ll need even more of in the future from him given Richardson’s injury. Korkmaz shot the ball well from behind the arc (4-of-8 from 3), but I was also impressed with how he attacked hard closeouts and made a couple running floaters. Defensively, he made a terrific block of Serge Ibaka from behind, and drew a charge against Kyle Lowry. Korkmaz didn’t look like a huge liability on that end, which is a good sign against a potential playoff opponent.

Tobias Harris: 22 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover

It was the third straight game for Tobias shooting under 40 percent from the field (7-of-18, 38.9 percent), but someone had to get those extra shots up with J-Rich going down and Harris did knock down four triples to lead the team in scoring. His nine third-quarter points helped the Sixers hang around. Playing the role of mentor even on the court, all four of Harris’ assists went for 3-pointers to Matisse Thybulle and Shake Milton, with two coming on drive-and-kicks to the corners. Tobi also made a great play defensively to stay under control and block Fred VanVleet from behind after the Raptors guard had beat him off the dribble.

Ben Simmons: 17 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 8 turnovers

Coming off his dominant outing in Brooklyn, Simmons initially picked up right where he left off, recording four points, 4 rebounds, and six assists in the first quarter. But as Ben assumed even more ball-handling duties with Josh sidelined, the old turnover issues reared their head. Simmons had been doing a much better job of late taking care of the basketball (2.1 turnovers per game across his nine previous January contests), but aside from a couple questionable offensive fouls, a lot of his giveaways tonight were just inexcusable passes. He still had a ton of positive plays, and shot very well at the free throw line (7-of-9), but it wasn’t the superstar-level performance the Sixers needed from Ben with two starters missing in action.

Al Horford: 7 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers

Like Simmons, Horford got off to a tremendous start in the first quarter, tallying seven points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Unfortunately, the Sixers needed more than zero points from him across the final three quarters, even if Al was doing a nice job moving the ball around in the half court. It was the third time in his last five games Horford has shot less than 30 percent from the field (3-of-11, 27.3 percent).