Sixers Bell Ringer: Hornets no match for Sixers once again

Sixers Bell Ringer Season Standings:

Joel Embiid - 3
Tobias Harris - 2
Dakota Mathias - 1

For the now 6-1 Philadelphia 76ers, the second leg of a two-game set against the Charlotte Hornets wasn’t much different than the first. Following a sluggish offensive start, the Sixers pulled ahead with a big second-quarter run, leading by 15 at halftime and never looking back in a 118-101 victory. Let’s choose a Bell Ringer from another terrific team-wide effort.

Tobias Harris: 22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover

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Tobias recorded his fourth-straight game with 20-plus points, having another incredibly efficient night with 10-of-16 shooting, including 2-of-5 from 3. Harris showed off the whole arsenal, hitting spot-up jumpers, attacking in the pick-and-roll and nailing a floater or getting all the way to the basket, scoring off cuts, and powering hard in transition. He is making the right reads, making them right away, and looking every bit of the player the Sixers wanted when they gave the Clippers so many assets to pry him away a couple years and one huge contract ago.

Joel Embiid: 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 1 turnover

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

It was a down offensive game for Joel, who didn’t make his first field goal until midway through the second quarter. His numbers were also a bit lower than usual because he was able to rest down the stretch and only logged 25 minutes. But Embiid made an enormous impact on the defensive end, snuffing out drive after drive and not allowing the Hornets to get anything at the rim. The big man singlehandedly stifled numerous pick-and-rolls, covering two men by himself and getting the steal, or twice stopping the driver and recovering back to his man to make the block. There were also countless plays that won’t show up in the box score, but Joel’s simple presence affected everything Charlotte wanted to do offensively.

Ben Simmons: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers

After Terry Rozier’s big night on Saturday, I greatly enjoyed Ben squashing a driving shot attempt right back into Terry’s face on one play. Offensively, Ben did much of his damage in transition, repeatedly catching the Hornets flat-footed and getting to the basket before the defense could set itself in the painted area. He also had a couple beautiful passes, feeding Harris from the elbow for a dunk and going behind-the-pass on the fast break to set up Embiid for the lay-in.

Danny Green: 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover

Danny had a solid night shooting the ball, finishing 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-8 from downtown. While a couple of those 3s were the typical spot-up variety, Green also flashed some different parts of his game, driving from the wing for a lay-up at the rim, or finding Tobias Harris underneath the basket with a nice feed after a pump fake and one dribble. Green even took five dribbles and sank a pull-up 3 right before the halftime buzzer. Bookmark this one, because you may not see its like again from Danny.

Tyrese Maxey: 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers

One of the few questions marks with Maxey remains his outside shooting, so it was great to see him have his first game sinking multiple 3s (2-of-3 on the night). But his speed is what truly sets Maxey apart. Tyrese slashed into the teeth of the defense and threw a lob to Dwight Howard, took it coast-to-coast for a three-point play, and intercepted a pass attempt and sped downcourt for the dunk. Maxey is the definition of instant offense.