Sixers Bell Ringer: Georges Niang headlines hot shooting night for an easy win over Toronto

Sixers Bell Ringer preseason standings

Andre Drummond: 1

After enduring a blowout loss in their preseason opener Monday, the Philadelphia 76ers returned home for a rematch with the Toronto Raptors and cruised to a 125-113 victory. Drilling 18 of their 37 triples, they shot lights out from deep and stretched the lead to as many as 22 midway through the fourth quarter. Between the starters and reserves, a handful of players led the charge. It’s time to talk Bell Ringer. Let’s get to it.

Georges Niang: 16 points, three assists, two rebounds, one steal

With a quartet of threes, the former Utah Jazz forward dazzled beyond the arc and confidently fired shot after shot, despite some timely contests from Toronto. En route to a team-high 16 points, he launched spot-ups, cashed a movement three, operated shrewdly off the ball for a bucket and assist via cuts, and helped catalyze fruitful minutes from the entire bench unit. He hedged well on a few ball screens too. The Sixers simply need more smart ball movers who fire threes. Niang checks those boxes and Thursday embodied that.

Seth Curry: 15 points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal

Fresh off a sterling preseason debut in which he dropped 14 points on 63.6 percent true shooting, Curry topped that performance with 15 points on 75.9 percent true shooting and notched a second consecutive Bell Ringer shout out. The veteran guard had the two-man game cooking with Joel Embiid and knocked down four of his eight long balls. He maintained that ever-important scoring aggression, was undeterred by closeouts — a vital trait for him — and appeared in rhythm all night.

Isaiah Joe: 15 points, two rebounds, two steals, one block

I need to open this section by issuing a formal apology for Joe’s omission in Monday’s Bell Ringer. He absolutely deserved a mention. Hand up, that’s on me. I’ll be better moving forward. Fortunately for the Sixers, he produced another impressive game off the bench with enticing two-way play and afforded me the chance to pen an apology.

The second-year wing went 3 of 4 from deep, had numerous possessions defensively where he flustered the opposition with physicality and positioning, and garnered three combined steals and blocks. Between an efficient, unabashed outside stroke and multifaceted defensive chops, he’s rapidly earning consideration for a rotation spot during this preseason run.

Tyrese Maxey: 14 points, five assists

Joining his draftmate among the Bell Ringer candidates on Thursday is Maxey, who bounced back from an inconsistent preseason opener to thrive off the bench. He established synergy in the pick-and-roll with Andre Drummond for buckets and drained a silky step-back three. By diversifying his scoring approach and mixing in a few encouraging passing reads, he controlled the order as a floor general. Defensively, he found some success pestering assignments in ball-screens with his strength and lateral mobility.