Sixers Bubble Bell Ringer: Without Ben Simmons, Sixers defeat Magic for third straight win

If you need a Bell Ringer refresher, check out the first such post of the season. Here are the full season standings, which include the Bubble games:

Bell Ringer Standings

Ben Simmons - 16
Joel Embiid - 14 (includes 2 Bubbles)
Tobias Harris - 12
Josh Richardson - 8
Furkan Korkmaz - 6
Shake Milton - 4 (includes 1 Bubble)
Matisse Thybulle - 3
Al Horford - 2
James Ennis - 1
Raul Neto - 1
Glenn Robinson III - 1

You won’t be bouncing your grandkids on your knee telling them about the time when Philadelphia and Orlando played inside the NBA Bubble. It was an ugly affair where neither team shot better than 42 percent from the field or 28 percent from 3. Nevertheless, the Sixers were tenacious on the offensive glass and did a uncustomarily good job taking care of the basketball, enabling them to pull away in the fourth quarter for a 108-101 victory. Let’s choose a Bell Ringer.

Alec Burks: 22 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover

While Burks didn’t receive the starting nod in the absence of Ben Simmons (that slot when to Al Horford), his play throughout the game earned him a spot in place of Shake Milton with the closing unit, and deservedly so. Burks was consistently effective shooting the ball from the outside, finishing 3-of-7 from downtown, including one four-point play drawn against Markelle Fultz. But unlike some of the other guard/wing options on the roster who are mostly limited to catch-and-shoot action offensively, Alec adds the ability to beat guys off the dribble and get to the basket. We saw fouls drawn and some nice finishes around the rim, a welcome reprieve on a night the Sixers’ offense was often stagnant.

Joel Embiid: 23 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers

In his new signature shoes, Joel got off to a slow start in this game, but asserted his dominance in the second half, scoring 17 points after halftime. Not only did a couple of those mid-range jump shots finally start falling, but he bullied his way down low, beginning a parade to the charity stripe with 12 second-half free throw attempts. Embiid put the exclamation point on the game with just outside of two minutes left, facing up and exploding past Nik Vucuvic for a monstrous reverse dunk.

Al Horford: 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover

Al’s scoring total would have been even higher if not for some missed shots under the basket, but I’m not going to fault him on a night when he gave such tremendous effort. Brett Brown opted to keep a big man in Simmons’ starting spot, and Horford made the move look wise by chewing up Gary Clark or whatever other smaller player the Magic tried to stick on him in the paint. Al finished off some post moves and crashed the offensive glass like the Kool-Aid man, finishing with five offensive rebounds and multiple putbacks. The big man also canned all four of his clutch free throws down the stretch. It was another solid, workmanlike game for the veteran in the Bubble.

Tobias Harris: 23 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers

It was an off-shooting night for Tobias, who finished 8-of-21 from the field, but he still left his imprint on the game by corralling a season-high-tying 15 boards, with a whopping six of those coming on the offensive end. Harris played a pivotal role in the Sixers regaining and extending the lead early in the fourth quarter, banking in a pair of runners, securing a three-point play on the second occasion. He was also second on the team in assists with four dimes, one of which was a terrific, quick read to find a cutting Mike Scott along the baseline for the dunk.