Sixers Bell Ringer: Another 30-point night from Tyrese Maxey not enough to take down Toronto

Sixers Bell Ringer regular season standings

Seth Curry: 3

Tobias Harris: 2

Joel Embiid: 2

Tyrese Maxey: 2

Andre Drummond: 2

Furkan Korkmaz: 1

In what was likely their worst performance since a loss to the New York Knicks two weeks ago, the Philadelphia 76ers dropped their third consecutive game on Thursday evening, falling 115-109 against the Toronto Raptors. After trailing by as many as 10 early in the fourth quarter, they charged back to briefly claim a 109-107 lead in the final two minutes. From there, Toronto posted the final eight points. It’s time to talk Bell Ringer. Let’s get to it.

Tyrese Maxey: 33 points, five assists, four rebounds, two blocks, one steal

Two days after notching his first 30-point outing of the season, Maxey followed it up with another, this one even better than the last. The floater was rocking all game long and he routinely exploded into the paint to convert against Toronto’s sea of rangy defenders. When the Raptors staked an eight-point lead with 4:31 to play, Maxey proceeded to score or assist on eight of the next 10 points, with the final three knotting the game at 107 on a slippery and-one floater. In the final frame alone, he registered 15 points, two assists, one steal and one block.

He looks increasingly prepared about to score when attacking off the catch and cooked the Raptors repeatedly working in that role. His eight free throws also established a new career-high. Although he committed some mistakes (overhelping, biting on fakes) defending Fred VanVleet, he also stymied a number of drives and was sharp as a helper, including two sweet rejections. The dude is just a speed demon, pairs his afterburners with deep creativity as an interior scorer and is maturing defensively. He’s your Bell Ringer.

Shake Milton: 12 points, two rebounds

For the sake of posterity, Milton will join Maxey on Thursday’s Bell Ringer ballot. To his credit, he turned in another encouraging performance. Burying a catch-and-shoot triple, a pull-up jumper and a nifty reverse, he rattled off seven straight points midway through the fourth to keep Philadelphia within striking distance, and the last bucket prompted a Raptors timeout. He continues to use his frame, particularly his shoulders, quite well to carve out space on drives.